Interference
by How-not-to-do-something
Summary: Even the most meticulous plans can be undone by a little meddling. NERV is about to find this out the hard way...
1. Prologue

Date: [CLASSIFIED]

Location: [CLASSIFIED]

Avalon project: codenamed Messiah

Objectives: [CLASSIFIED]

It was late autumn here, though one would never know it. The many automated sensors and satellite mapping put winter a few months away. Not like anyone would appreciate it; for the ten thousand who toiled daily below ground it didn't matter if the primarily methane atmosphere above held snow. The master of this facility shared their apathy, or perhaps was it's source.

The facility was a massive underground network that almost qualified as a colony, and was located on a medium sized planet that orbited a large but dim star. The planet was chosen mainly because it held almost earth standard gravity and a deep remoteness from anything resembling sentience. There was also an abundance of ammonia based life, but few (if any) cared about that. Apart from a large tower that hid the landing pad and a number of machines that kept the native life away from it, it was devoid of any off-world presence.

This place existed for a single purpose.

Below ground thousands worked, producing things that could be termed abominations against god. No one was forced to be here, it was pure volunteers. Exactly ten thousand and eighty nine people volunteered for this assignment, and they were appropriately compensated for. The accident rate was surprisingly negligible, considering the circumstances.

In a small office near the surface the master worked, not unlike those below him. Though his job consisted primarily of management, making sure needed supplies were delivered and making sure major problems were dealt with. The office itself was bare save for a wood desk, two uncomfortable chairs, one very comfortable chair, and the occupant himself, who was known to his underlings as Colonel Ulrich Harkin.

"Sir" Ulrich's secretary (a middle aged blonde haired woman who made good tea) called over the small intercom. The master looked up from his report on the latest project and tried to avoid getting the scowl on his face into his tone.

"Yes what is it?" He replied to the device. Only a little bit of his temper leaked into his voice.

"A class 0 meeting was called. Its in fifteen minutes colonel" she said professionally but with an undertone of fear. A class 0 meeting was never a good omen.

"I see. Cancel everything on my schedule for the next hour. Scratch that, make it two" he ordered, sounding on the verge of anger.

"Understood" she replied.

"And could you please make me some of that tea?" He asked, tone much softer. The woman that he called Shirley wasn't hired for her looks.

"I'll get right on it" she said. The device clicked off. The colonel leaned back onto his comfortable chair and stared at the ceiling, looking wistful.

"Damn" he mumbled. Not without reluctance he stood up from the throne like chair and stretched.

'Colonel Ulrich Harkin' as he was widely known as, was a strange individual. Standing at precisely 186 centimeters tall, he belonged to an ethnic group that long ago died out but could be best described as caucasian. His skin was pale to almost translucence, a side effect of rarely seeing the sun. Any sun. Though his age resembled thirty his short hair was bleached almost white. A common result of constant stress. He was clad in a black military-type outfit with a similarly colored knee length overcoat. More than a few people commented that he looked like a nazi SS officer.

Opening the door he half marched, half stalked out of his office down the administrative wing. Everyone in the nicely decorated hallway immediately made room, not wishing to incur his wrath. The cape like coat flared behind him, giving him the impression of a king off to declare war. He barely noticed his surroundings.

At the end of the hall was a black door. No one went in or out from there, save him. There was no knob, no key pad, no way to open it at all. No one would try it though, even touching the door carried severe punishment. As he approached the door swung open on its own. The handful of people who saw it open saw nothing but inky blackness beyond. He strolled through without a care. No sooner than his coat cleared the door did it shut with an audible hiss.

Many rumors circulated about that door. Some claimed that inside was a pentagram, where the colonel communed with the devil. Others said there was a mobile wormhole that teleported him to a race of hyper-advanced aliens to receive new orders. Still others claimed inside was a secret lab where he recharged (the assumption being he was a robot). The truth was more mundane and far stranger than any rumor.

Beyond a short claustrophobic corridor there was only a small room, roughly twelve by twelve feet. It was covered in small black tiles and was empty except for a circular pad in the center. He stood in the center of the man sized pad and began the ritual. He bowed, lowering himself to one knee, and held one fist over his heart and one beside his hip. His head bowed and he closed his eyes. The pose was similar to a knighting ceremony.

A minute passed and he didn't move, going as far as restricting his breathing. If he had opened his eyes he would have seen thin glass like panes silently rising just outside of the circle. They were completely opaque, and increased the claustrophobic aspect of the room. But he didn't, just kept his eyes shut and body bowed as protocol demanded.

"Arise my servants" an unidentifiable male voice spoke. The order wasn't sound; it was like a thought, completely inside his mind. As commanded, he rose. Only after standing up straight did he open his eyes.

The circular panes flickered, then cleared up. The virtual reality location appeared, a bright blue sky above and a misty cloud below. From where he was it seemed like the conference was taking place on top of a cloud. Nothing else was in sight, and the view was breathtakingly beautiful.

_the usual. hope one day theres something new, _he thought wishfully.

At the same time other shapes began appearing. Nine other human shapes, each one becoming clearer and gaining more details by the second. As custom, the holograms were arranged in a circle based on seniority, with the First and the Tenth next to each other. All were within a couple meters of each other, and faced a single point.

Now the master too appeared, simmering for a moment before becoming clear. The master was seemingly human, clad in white multilayered robes and looking very self satisfied.

"Report" he commanded briskly, now in sound rather than thought. The master looked away into the distance, but he was listening intensely all the same.

"The halcyon council has acceded to our demands. The necessary work will begin within a standard week. So far, everything is going according to plan" the First spoke. The master nodded, both acknowledging the excellent status and indicating the next to continue.

"The Schism has finally occurred within the alliance of the faithful. Civil war has erupted, and humanity will finally gain some breathing room" the second spoke. Another nod. The reports continued on their various activities until it was his turn, as the Seventh.

"Production has continued at predicted rates. At this rate within a decade the number of operational units we have will easily exceed fifty, barring accidents of course" he reported.

"And the prime?" The master asked. The first thing he'd said since the meetings start.

"Months away from completion. Despite an unexpected development that has occurred it will be operational within the predicted time frame. However, the original operational plan will have to be revised" he said, suppressing a sigh. The master nodded and the remaining servants continued.

After the Tenth finished reporting the master brought his attention back to the circle.

"You have all done well. As of this moment, all of you except the Second, Seventh, and Eighth are dismissed" he said, waving his arm in dismissal. As commanded, the holograms flickered and vanished.

"Seraphim, explain" he said. The Second servant, a woman seemingly in her early twenties and clad in an outfit almost identical to the colonels but lacking sleeves stepped forward, breaking the circle. She raised her left arm that was covered in strange blue tattoos and flicked her wrist, like she was throwing a frisbee. A small glowing orb launched from her palm and stopped in midair. The orb almost instantly swelled to a beach ball sized sphere, and a second of flickering later manifested itself as the Earth.

"This was recorded at approximately 4:51 p.m. native greenwich time by multiple probes and spy satellites" she said, slowly circling to her comrades side. The orb rotated to show the white expanse of the southernmost continent, Antarctica. A dim light began to blink near the magnetic pole, which was marked by a small blue dot.

"Is the time scale accelerated?" The colonel asked, staring in fascination.

"No" seraphim replied. The blinking abruptly stopped. The colonel was about to ask a question when the light bloomed. It looked like a new sun had been born in the land of ice. Red circular clouds began expanding, resembling the rings of saturn. Within moments they completely overshadowed the continent and reached almost to tasmania and the cape of good hope. It was easy to miss the thin ripple that slowly spread from Antarctica outwards, a moment later the colonel realized the ripple was a wall of water, a massive tsunami. Most amazingly though, four lattice like wing rose up from the continent hundreds of miles into space. The recording stopped in pause.

"How large was the explosive yield?" The Eighth asked in wonder.

"The specifics are difficult to come by, but preliminary reports estimate the equivalency of thousands of Hiroshima scale explosives" seraphim answered.

"How long ago did this happen?" The colonel asked.

"Twenty nine hours and forty three minutes" she replied.

"What about the rest of the planet?" the Eighth asked.

"This gentlemen, is the event avalon has been waiting for" the master interupted, sounding as smug as ever. The colonel looked away from the projection and ignored the interruption, for such things are not unexpected.

"Its finally time?" He asked hesitantly.

"It is. This, this is prophesied Second Impact" he answered triumphantly. There was a pause from all three servants as they processed that.

"Slavic" the master said.

"Yes my master?" The colonel asked.

"It has begun. For this i am placing you in command. Seraphim will fund the mission to her full extent, and Tribal's military forces will assist you to their full capacity" the master ordered. The colonel, Slavic, nodded.

"I understand my master" he replied.

"You have approximately fifteen years to prepare" the master spoke ominously. A brief flicker and he vanished. Slavic turned to the other two servants that were now his subordinates.

"Now what?" The eighth, Tribal, asked. Seraphim only looked at him expectantly. Slavic sighed.

"We got a lot to do and not much time to do it. So lets get started" he said.

The remaining holograms vanished.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/n: I forgot to mention this from the get-go, I don't own NGE or anything else that may or may not be mentioned. If I did this wouldn't be here and the rebuild movies (especially 3.0) might have this neat thing called sanity.**

Chapter 1

Quiet. It was too quiet. A city of several hundred thousand is a loud thing under any circumstances, it was simply impossible to mask it. The engines of cars, the music of shops, and most importantly the sound of people drive a constant crescendo of noise unique to every city in the world, even in this day and age. But on this warm day, in this district of the city of Tokyo-3, there is only the cicadas and a telephone.

"A state of emergency has been declared. Please proceed in an orderly fashion to your designated shelter. Thank you for your cooperation" the automated pay phone repeated. The fourteen year old boy currently holding said phone looked at the machine with disbelief. With a subdued sigh he replaced the speaker onto the cradle.

"This sucks. Oh what am I doing here?" He lamented, taking another glance at the postcard that had a scantily clad woman smiling and doing a peace sign. Around this time it finally dawned on the teenager that the bustling city that he tuned out hours ago was silent. The messages that ordered the populace to shelter earlier went unheeded, and now it occurred to him that maybe he should have listened.

The quiet teenager that was named Shinji Ikari arrived in Tokyo-3 approximately two hours ago. Approximately a week prior he received a letter from his father that he last saw three years ago. The letter itself wasn't special, just a postcard that had 'come to Tokyo-3' handwritten on the back. As many predicted, he deliberated extensively (not surprising considering the strained relationship with his father) before coming to a decision and catching the express train. Both the boy himself and his life so far was in most ways unremarkable, but unbeknownst to him it was about to change forever.

A flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He exited the open booth and strained to see. There was a girl standing in the middle of the road some distance away. It was hard to tell many details because of the shimmering asphalt, but she looked almost expectant. Like she was waiting for something, but was running out of patience

"What the..." He mumbled to himself. At that moment a flock of birds decided to take flight. Shinji's eyes twitched involuntarily towards them but then quickly returned to the spot where the girl was. His attention left that area for barely a second, but there was no trace of her. As if she never existed in the first place. Whatever questions he had were cut off by several concussive booms in the other direction. Shinji spun around to see. Several military VTOL aircraft were flying backwards, firing at an unseen foe. Their target walked into view from behind a sizable hill. Shinji ould only stare in shock.

The thing, a monster, was humanoid in shape. Its skin was a dark green and it had large bony protrusions on its shoulders and several rib like things surrounding a red orb on its chest. It didnt seem t have a head, only a strange bird-like mask for a face. Also, it was easily eighty meters tall. A VTOL strafed it, firing missiles at the closest the thing had for a head. Almost lazily the monster raised its arm and opened a three fingered hand. A bright lance of light shot out, impaling the aircraft and causing it to crash.

The burning wreck crashed barely fifteen meters away from the frozen teenager. As it impacted the remaining fuel and ordinance detonated. The tesulting fireball knocked him over and he struggled to breathe as the heat washed him. An enormous glowing halo appeared over the creature's head and it floated over to the wreck. Perhaps unintentionally the thing's foot landed on top of the wreck; fortunately for shinji it was it's left foot. Senses numbed, he almost missed the blue car that showed up and honked its horn at him. The passenger door opened and behind the wheel was the woman from the postcard. She smiled.

"Sorry for being late" she said, apparently oblivious to the monster. She tossed her head back in a come on guesture. Needing no encouragement, Shinji leaped inside. The door was barely shut before the car shot off, somehow avoiding the giant's stomping feet.

Meanwhile...

"Sir, the U.N. forces are in retreat" the lieutenant reported, snapping off a crisp salute. Slavic nodded in response, barely noticing the unnamed fool that acted as his secretary. His eyes were glued to the large screen in the command center. Currently the tactical data that they acquired in real time showed dozens, if not hundreds of U.N. military units deployed around Tokyo-3 in classical defensive positions against a single enemy unit. He hadn't spent the last fifteen years laying around. Considering this information, apparently no one had.

Avalon's current H.Q. was tiny by most standards, the command center was a few small screens and one large one staffed by a dozen personnel, but it suited their purposes. Assuming everything went according to plan, they wouldn't need this place for much longer. A small shame, the slight rocking was almost soothing at this point.

"Ten creds says they'll nuke it" a technician whispered to his coworker. Slavic ignored them; the current situation was far too important to be distracted by some casual gambling. The fool glanced down at his computer tablet.

"Sir, the main deck just reported in" lieutenant Fool said in a crisp tone that both amused and irritated Slavic. In the past fifteen years the only thing that changed was his hair going slightly whiter and the new metal node on the back of his neck.

"And?" Slavic almost growled. The screen showed most of the U.N. forces were pulling back; their next move was clear as day.

"The preparations are complete, Alpha is ready to launch on your command" Fool said. Lucky him, relocation instead of demotion. Or execution, it depended on slavic's mood.

"Good" Slavic answered, mind already focusing on the necessary paperwork to get rid of him. On the screen a sigle dot that signified a bomber streamed towards the taget.

The woman, whose name turned out to be Misato Katsuragi, stopped the car at a small hill a good distance away from the one sided battle. Shinji personally thought that they were still too close but held his tongue. She leaned over him with a pair of binoculars, her ample bust resting on his head, trying to see the fight.

"What are they doing.." She asked thoughtfully to herself. Shinji was having a hard time focusing, for all his problems he was still a boy.

"Whats going on?" Shinji asked, suppresing a stutter. Inconvenient feelings spun in the teen's mind.

"They're falling back, but why- oh no! They're going to use an N2 mine! Get down!" She yelled, clutching shinji and taking cover. He cried out as a bright flash lit up the sky. Seconds later the shockwave of a pseudo-nuclear explosive hit their spot, tossing a car over like a toy.

At NERVA, the central screen on the bridge went a bright white.

"Well, thats that" one of the generals arrogantly proclaimed. His two comrades nodded in agreement. NERV's second in command, sub-commander Kozo fuyutski quietly sighed. His former student was as usual silent, hands knotted in front of his mouth. Fuyutski was willing to bet he was grinning though. As he would likely say later, 'all is going according to the scenario'.

Despite the severity of the situation and the horrendous loss of life, when the new camera feed showed the almost undamaged attacker standing defiantly Kozo thought the look of shock on the generals face was priceless.

"Called it" the previous technician triumphantly whispered. His comrade grumbled as he forked over the money.

"The remaining forces are in retreat sir" lieutenant Fool said unnecessarily, as the screen obviously showed. Slavic didnt respond to that. He was too engrossed at the video feed from an aircraft over the crater. The N2 mine used had approximatly five times the explosive force of the uranium bomb used at Hiroshima, and had barely managed to slow the creature down.

_And this is supposed to be one of the weaker ones_, he thought.

"Lieutenant" Slavic commanded. The lieutenant looked like he was going to say something else but wisely kept quiet.

"Prep the stealth craft. I want to see this personally" he said, not once taking his eyes off the screen.

"Right away sir" Fool replied before rushing off to begin. On screen the feed went to static as the VTOL was destroyed.

Luckily for both of them, the blast only rolled the car. Misato looked ready to cry, not out of pain but at the condition of her car. Judging from her grumbling, she must have gotten this car only recently.

"Okay, on three we push" she commanded. With a mighty heave the side-turned car finally returned to its wheels. She slapped her hands together and smiled in satisfaction.

"Thanks Shinji. You're pretty useful" she said.

"Um, thanks miss Katsuragi" Shinji replied sheepishly.

"Misato please" she said.

As it turned out, the fuel line of the VTOL stealth craft was broke, so hours were wasted on locating a misplaced crate of parts and fixing the damn thing. It took most of Slavic's willpower to not order an execution, starting with lieutenant fool.

"Lieutenant Allen reports that NERV is preparing their weapon" the pilot reported over the standard comm/earmuff machine that was a must with most flying vehicles.

"Who?" Slavic asked, wearing a similar device. The pilot gave him a strange look.

"Your secretary on the Saint?" The pilot asked. Slavic nodded, finally discovering the guys name. His name was probably on his uniform, but no matter.

"Whats our ETA?" Slavic asked the female pilot as he looked out the window. Currently he sat in the copilot seat of the two man reconnaissance craft as it rapidly approached Tokyo-3.

"Now" she said, and lo and behold the smallish metropolis came into view. From here he could clearly see the monster- Angel, he mentally corrected himself- as it stomped towards the center of the city.

"When are they deploying?" He asked, mentally noting weak points and possible strategies against both the angel and the city.

"The chatter says anytime" the pilot said. To her credit she'd hardly looked at the thing, instead keeping them from being detected by the local forces's radar.

"Alright. Radio the Saint. Alpha is a go, authorization code captains chair" he commanded.

"Roger" she said, already clicking the comm.

"Alright! I'll do it! I'll pilot!" Shinji shouted. The injured blue haired girl in his arms seemed to shudder before passing out. She wasn't dead, just unconscious. And her blood was on his hands. Literally. The moment he saw her he knew she was the same girl he saw in the road earlier. Any questions he had were put aside for later.

Up above on the observation room, commander Gendo Ikari did his level best to suppress a grin. Exactly as planned.

The two women on the catwalk before the massive Evangelion, Misato and Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, looked at each other and then quickly went to work on their respective tasks: Misato to the bridge to manage the battle, Ritsuko to the newly inducted Pilot.

"What about her" Shinji asked defiantly, not letting go of the unconscious girl.

"She'll be taken back to the medical wing once you let go" Ritsuko answered, somewhat sharply. Reluctantly he complied, and two nurses gently picked her up and placed her onto a waiting gurney, quickly wheeling her out. Ritsuko dug into the pocket of her lab coat and grabbed the twin things she made sure to grab earlier.

"Here, put these on" she said, attaching the clips as she led him to the waiting entry plug.

"What are these?" He asked suspiciously.

"A10 nerve clips. They're needed for synchronization" Shinji had no idea what any of that meant, but he complied. Another minute of squirming and jostling, and he was buckled into the seat.

He had no idea what to do or how to do it.

No sooner than the panel above him closed did the plug start filling with water.

"Hey wait! Wah!" He was cut off by the stuff completely filling the small space. Quickly he gulped a large breath and wondered how much time had left. A small rational part of his mind noted that this stuff was almost his body temperature, and clearly wasn't water.

"Calm down. Once the LCL is in your lungs it'll oxygenate your blood directly" Ritsuko said calmly over the radio. Clearly hesitant but straining for air, Shinji let the breath out and the strange stuff filed his mouth.

"It stinks" he whined. It tasted like blood, and if it wasn't for the clearness he would think it was.

"Stop complaining! You're a boy you know!" Misato barked over the radio.

Shinji cringed. What ever bravery he had minutes ago was rapidly draining away. The metal plugs walls starting glowing, then in rapid succession went from a kaleidoscope of colors to flashing lights to virtually transparent. The machine, the Evangelion, could apparently see in all directions. Shinji didn't have time to wonder at that, he didn't have much time to do anything as the Eva raced towards the surface.

On the bridge pandemonium and order vied for dominance. Several dozen personnel made up the bridge staff, though in battle only seven mattered. Those seven were in attendance at their respective spots and doing their respective jobs to the fullest extent of their abilities. As some would say, this was the Big One.

"Whats his sync ratio?" Ritsuko asked, strangely calm despite the circumstances. Mankind's last hope was rushing up the massive rail line towards the surface, the pilots odds of survival as well as humanity's a few decimal points from zero. The so called 'bridge-bunny' that was responsible for pilot data was first Lt.. Maya Ibuki, a youngish woman. She blinked a few times at her screen, disbelief on her face.

"Its.. at forty percent" she reported. Misato whistled.

"He's a natural" she commented.

Above them, the commander's post was occupied by commander Ikari and sub-commander Fuyutski. They too were in their usual places, Ikari on a chair with his hand knotted in front of his face in the unofficially named 'Gendo pose'. Fuyutski stood beside him, looking as stoic as ever.

"Is this truly the best option Ikari?" He asked quietly. In this spot unless they shouted no one could hear what they were saying.

"Of course. Mankind has no time left" Gendo replied cryptically. On the screen Eva Unit 01 arrived on the surface.

"I hope you know what your doing" Fuyutski said. Behind his hands Gendo let himself form a small grin.

"New radar contact approaching the defensive perimeter!" One of the lieutenants yelled.

"What!? The army JSSDF was ordered to fall back!" Misato yelled in surprise.

"Data confirmed! Contact is reading as a pattern orange!" Ibuki yelled. A stunned silence fell over the bridge, broken only by the beeping monitors and ritsuko breathlessly muttering:

"Impossible"

The Angel ceased its random destruction of the city once the massive platform opened and the purple behemoth known as Unit 01 entered the fray. The massive rail lines disconnected with refined ease, and Unit 01 stood on its own two feet. Angel and Evangelion stared each other down, preparing to duel to the death.

"Oh shit" Shinji muttered.

"Shinji, the Eva responds to your thoughts. For now, just focus on walking" Ritsuko explained. He thought, tried to move muscles he didn't have. To the amazement of almost everyone, the Eva's foot came up and moved forward in a careful step.

The Angel was apparently tired of waiting and advanced. Shinji's brief moment of joy was replaced by total terror as the monster advanced. Its palm came up, wanting to grab and crush Unit 01's head. Shinji could only look in terror as the hand reached-

The Angel suddenly drew back. Faster than shinji could react a massive green object smashed into the angel, knocking it into the ground. He could only watch as the thing almost effortlessly stabbed the red orb in the Angel's chest. The Angel's arm flopped once before resting on the ground. With deliberate slowness it rose. Only when it face Unit 01 did Shinji and the watching bridge realize what it was.

It wan an Evangelion. It looked similar to Unit 01, but instead of large pylons on its shoulders it had small rounded plates. The armor looked more streamlined than his, and it lacked a horn. Behind it the Angel's core detonated, but hexagonal field blocked the blast without trying. While silhouetted by the blast, twin things unfurled from its back, revealing themselves to be wings. It looked like an angel from the heavens. It raised on hand and pointed a finger at him with a thumb raised. The thumb came down and the hand moved up.

_Its miming shooting me, shinji thought_, justifiably terrified. The Eva crouched and leaped. The wings began flapping, and in a minute it was gone, leaving only a dead angel and a confused new pilot.

On the bridge, everyone was stunned silent. Fuyutski leaned close to the commander's face, noticing his mouth was hanging wide open.

"This isnt part of the scenario is it?" He quietly asked.

Above the city, Slavic and the pilot watched the new Eva retreat. He spoke into a small recorder.

"Operation phase 1. Mission success"

**A/n: So it begins. Yet another Evangelion fanfiction. Thanks to chaosSerpent13 for being the first to fav and follow this story. Rate, review, all that happy stuff. I promise I'll respond to every message, unless by some miracle this story takes off or i quit it. Til next time.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Once again, I own nothing.**

Chapter 2

With careful instructions from Misato, Shinji gently guided the purple behemoth back onto the rail elevator, locking it in place. Once that was done, the Eva began descending. He was glad to see that the thing went down slowly; despite the strange feeling of the LCL, he wasn't sure if his stomach could handle falling down as quick as it went up.

Shinji was feeling a number of emotions right now, but the main one now was confusion. After all the trouble he went through, someone else actually killed the thing, the Angel. Which meant the effort put into making him pilot was pointless. So why did they try when someone else was available? An unfamiliar sensation came over him; anger. That was quickly dissipated by logic pointing out that if they had that, they wouldnt had put so much effort into getting him into this thing.

The Eva locked into place inside its cage and the plug retracted out of the thing's back. Shinji shakily exited, after all that he was fairly shook up. Misato and Dr. Akagi were waiting.

"Are you alright?" Misato asked as she helped him out. The moment his feet were on a solid surface he bent over and retched. Breakfast, a small snack of a lunch, and a large amount of LCL fell from him onto the catwalk. Much of it fell down to the bottom of the cage. Ritsuko carefully plucked the hair clips from his scalp while he was bent over and emptying his lungs.

"Come on" she said, motioning him to follow.

"Why" Shinji throatily asked. The teen's legs felt like rubber, his insides were twisted up, and a powerful headache was forming. He felt like collapsing, but stayed up on dwindling reserves of strength.

"Showers. Theres a spare outfit waiting once you finish. Believe me, you do not want that stuff to dry on you" she explained. Misato gently tugged on his arm to show him the way. Shinji made an effort to remember something that he needed to do.

Twenty minutes, an oddly pleasant shower, and a spare NERV uniform that was almost his size later, and Shinji Ikari was feeling much better and was almost ready to face the rest of this day. Outside the showers misato stood, looking almost anxious.

"Okay, I know what you're going to ask. No, that thing that killed the Angel wasn't ours" she said. Shinji nodded.

"I figured" he replied.

"Really?" she asked, sounding surprised.

"If that thing was yours, why did you have me pilot?" He replied slightly dejected.

"Huh. Didnt think of that" she admitted. As they retrieved his clothes and belongings from the cleaner, Shinji tried to decide his opinion on her. So far, it stayed at somewhat ditzy but kind hearted. That opinion was confirmed a few moments later when he asked:

"So where am I going to live?" They walked at a leisurely pace to Dr. Akagi's office at NERV's infirmary for a medical check-up. Coincidently, the thing he needed to do was nearby.

"You're staying around? You don't like piloting, anyone could see that" she said thoughtfully.

"If I run away, then someone else is going to suffer through that" Shinji replied. Misato's opinion of him went up a few notches. She took a look of someone deep in thought, complete with her hand under her chin and a questioning hum. They were outside Ritsuko's office when her face lit up like a fireworks show and happily she almost shouted:

"You can live with me!"

"Are you sure thats a good idea?" Replied the dry clinical tone of Dr. Ritsuko Akagi. Misato turned to her longtime friend and co-worker who was standing in the doorframe and glared at her. Sometime during the intervening hour she changed from a swimsuit and lab coat to a skirt, glasses, blouse, and a fresh coat.

"And why is that?" Misato taunted. Ritsuko was unfazed.

"Exhibit A, your hygiene habits" she said, continuing the dry tone of an doctor reluctantly humoring a patient that believed they knew more about her job than she did.

"Hey, I'm not that bad" Misato protested.

"Exhibit B, you drinking habit" Ritsuko continued, a smile starting to tug at her mouth. Misato's glare upgraded to a death stare. The two would have probably continued all day if not for Shinji loudly clearing his throat. They remembered the original topic of the conversation.

"So um, is that a yes or a no?" He asked.

"I dont see a reason why not. I'll have to clear it with the commander, but sure. Word to the wise though, she's a slob" Ritsuko said, grinning and slyly winking.

"Hey!" Misato said, offended. Fifteen minutes of examination later Ritsuko pronounced him to be in excellent health, if slightly on the thin side. She wrote on a note pad the training schedule for the next month and gave it to him, claiming that he was in for a crash course of training. She ended on a warning that the mystery Eva might not be friendly next time.

Once they were outside the office Shinji asked Misato for a favor.

"You want to visit the other pilot?" She asked. Shinji's looked away, his cheeks gaining a reddish hue.

"Yeah. I mean, if I hadn't piloted, she would have died. Right?" He said hesitantly, doing his level best to keep his voice straight. Misato grinned devilishly.

"Lady killer at heart aren't you" she teased.

"Its not that!" Shinji exclaimed, clearly embarrassed. The rosy tint to his cheeks changed to a definite red.

"Its just, I want to see how shes doing. She looked badly hurt" he said, not meeting his new guardian's eyes. Mistao chuckled but didn't reply. She knew that he wasn't lying, he really was concerned for her sake. She just couldn't resist the chance to tease him. Seeing as he was becoming her new roommate, there would be plenty of opportunities for that along the way.

The girl's room was only short distance from Ritsuko's office. Given that she was a pilot, this made sense. Misato motioned him inside.

"Your not coming in with me?" Shinji asked, perplexed.

"Never liked hospitals. I'll just ask Ritsuko about her later" she said, accompanying a shrug. Shinji took a steadying breath and entered the room.

Inside it was completely bare. No decorations, no get well gifts, nothing. The only distinctive thing was the view of the Geofront outside the window, and the girl herself.

"Hey" Shinji started to say before he noticed she was unconscious. Someone changed her from the weird outfit she wore earlier to a hospital gown and replaced all her bandages. An I.V. was hooked up to her arm, and a monitor showed her heartbeat. The steady beeping was almost like a chiming clock with it's regularity. An oxygen mask was over her mouth.

There was no doubt, she was the same girl he saw in the road earlier, though she was clearly much worse for wear. Shinji made a mental note to ask Misato what happened to her. Hesitantly, he leaned in close to answer a nagging question. Upon close inspection, she either thoroughly dyed her hair constantly, or it was naturally blue.

Even clearly injured, Shinji thought she looked beautiful. Despite what many people believed, shinji was definitely into girls. Normally though he was too withdrawn to do anything about it.

"Get well soon" he said softly, barely above a whisper. She didn't hear him. Before he exited he took a quick look at her medical chart.

"Rei Ayanami" he mumbled. A feeling of intrusion came over him, compelling him to leave. He couldnt resist taking one more glance at her.

_Beautiful_, he thought.

"So, how's Rei?" Misato asked.

"She's unconscious and pretty beat up. I hope she gets better soon" he replied, another spat of rosy cheeks coloring his features. It took a lot of willpower on Misato's part to not point out the word pretty, or the beginnings of puppy love. Later, she promised herself.

"So, wanna grab a bite?" Misato asked cheerfully. At the mention of food shinji's stomach rumbled and he remembered that everything he ate today was cleaned off the catwalk in the cages. Needing no more encouragement he accompanied her to grab some chow.

They were out of earshot when Rei's monitor went single toned.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxx

While Shinji was being examined by Dr. Akagi, the commander did as he was required to do, which was to report to the committee, which was known to only a few as Seele. The twelve most powerful men on earth and NERV's secret benefactors. Had the battle gone as planned, they would be at least pleased, though several might be angry about the projected cost of any future battles. Had it gone to plan.

"The scenario is in jepordy!" is what one of them accused, and that summed up the general attitude. They were furious, but more importantly, they were scared. A dangerous combination.

"Enough" Chairman of the committee and Seele 01 Lorenz Kihl barked. Reluctantly the eleven other members fell silent. Under normal circumstances only five members or so would debrief the commander, but now all twelve were in attendance. Most had the blank monolith screen with their respecive number and sound only marker.

"Gentlemen, I wish to state that I am just as surprised, if not more so at this event" Gendo said with as much humility as he could muster.

"I highly doubt that, but we've found no evidence that you or any of your staff were involved" Seele 02 said.

"This unknown titan appears to possess technology more advanced than anything else on earth" 05 mentioned.

"Its a threat to the plan, it must be eliminated" 09 growled.

"We cound capture it and gain ourselves a decisive edge against future Angels" 06 suggested.

"And how excatly is this to be done?" 11 asked rhetorically.

"Speculation is getting us nowhere" 01, Kihl said with finality. The sound only marker on all the monoliths blinked out, indicating they were likely deciding his judgement. Gendo Ikari did not fear death, but he did fear failure. If they decided he was at fault, then eleven years of careful work would be wasted.

_Then my plan becomes that much more difficult_, he thought. After only a few minutes sound only reappeared on all the monoliths.

"Commander Ikari" Kihl said. Gendo didnt bat an eye, a moment of weakness now would doom him.

"It is the decision of this committee that you are innocent in this matter, and therefore will not be punished. The scenario will be adjusted for this anomaly" Kihl said. A slight exhalation is all the commander of NERV allowed himself.

"What are you orders?" He asked, sounding both humble and bored. A combination that annoyed these men to no end, which is why he did it.

"You will alert your pilots and staff. If at all possible, capture this Eva. It could be useful to our plans" he said. Gendo personally thought 'our plans' meant theirs, not his.

"And if I am unable?" He asked. The answer was obvious, but he asked anyway.

"Destroy it. The scenario at this point is too delicate to allow for this disruption" Kihl said.

"I understand. Once again I am repeating my request for additional Evangelions." he said.

"We will put that into consideration. For now, you are dismissed" Kihl commanded. The monoliths powered down and the dim lights of the room brightened. Gendo sighed as he stood up. Overall the meeting was well in favor, but that brought him little comfort.

Off the coast of Japan, a pre-Impact super cargo ship inched northward. This model of ship hasn't been built since before second Impact, since most of the shipping port cities had to be rebuilt, often completely. The ship was among the last of its kind. It was officially owned by a Brazilian shipping company, but a short inspection would show the company was simply a front. Somewhere inside the massive ship, a technical officer carefully monitered his equipment while his commanding officer watched.

"Any results?" the commander asked.

"I've positively identified three locations, with another tentative six" the officer reported.

"Good work. Keep it up and report your findings to the captain" lieutenant Allen said.

"Yes sir" the officer said.

**Rate and review please**! **And a heartfelt thanks to those who have.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/n: I own nothing, though I do claim this coffee as my own.**

In his office (which many NERV employees nicknamed the Mausoleum), Fuyutski was waiting.

"How'd it go?" He asked. Gendo sighed.

"That bad?" He asked.

"Actually no. Its not often that it goes this good" Gendo admitted.

"Then I'm guessing you're worried about the mystery Eva" he ventured. Gendo nodded.

"We have one able bodied pilot and a temperamental Unit. If that thing decides to attack us, we're done for" Gendo said as he sat in his chair.

"Knowing you, you probably already have a plan to deal with this" Fuyutski said. Gendo sighed again as he reached for the bottle of bourbon he kept in his desk.

"I've repeated my request to the committee for more Evas. This time I think they'll listen" he said. He poured a small shot glass of the strong alcohol and offered it to his mentor and the only man in the world he trusted. He took it appreciably.

"We're getting Unit 02 early?" Fuyutski asked as he sipped the drink.

"Probably not. But I am fairly certain we'll be getting more than a single Eva. One of the American units for sure. Possibly both" Gendo said, pouring himself a drink.

"And pilots?" Fuyutski asked.

"The German definitely. She's a package deal with Unit 02. As for any others, I'm not sure" Gendo said, sipping his drink like Fuyutski was doing. He wanted to chug it, but there was too much that needed his attention.

"Think we might get the committee's pet?" Fuyutski asked. He looked down and noticed with disappointment that the glass was almost empty. Good drinks never lasted.

"A possibility. I don't know for sure. At this point, everything's up in the air" Gendo replied, adding a subdued wave. He looked like he was going to say something else but stopped with a perplexed expression. Fuyutski was about to ask what was wrong when Gendo pulled his buzzing cellphone out from his pocket. A quick glance from his former student asked the old man to leave. After setting the glass on the desk he obliged, wondering who was calling the commander of NERV on his personal cellphone. Whoever it was, it couldn't be good.

Once Fuyutski was outside, Gendo clicked the answer button on the phone and put it to his ear. The number screen on it said restricted. So who was calling?

"Hello?" He asked carefully.

"Commander Ikari?" The other end, a male voice asked.

"Speaking" he said with the normal tone he gave to most people, boredom that bordered on contempt. A front to hide his nervousness that someone was calling him on his personal phone.

"Hello. I represent a concerned party that is keeping tabs on your situation" the speaker (who was speaking with Kyushu accented japanese) said in a monotone.

"How did you get this number" he demanded.

"I and some of my compatriots would like to meet with you as soon as possible" the speaker said, ignoring the commander's question.

"And why would I do that?" He asked, letting his voice drip with contempt.

"The green Evangelion with wings that defeated the third Angel for you belongs to my group" the speaker said. The monotone didn't change, the speaker might as well had been explaining an oncoming cloud. Gendo's throat clenched in surprise. They had too many details to be coincidence. Combined with this conversation taking place on a phone that only a handful of people had the number of convinced him. He had to know.

"When and where" he commanded.

...xxxxXXXxxxx...

On his way to check up on the bridge, Fuyutski found himself witnessing a rare occurrence. Ritsuko Akagi almost running to him, looking agitated.

"Sub commander" Ritsuko said, clearly distressed. She stopped a few steps from him and started breathing heavily. Last time he checked, she was at the infirmary. It seemed that she speed walked halfway across the Geofront to the commander's office.

"Something wrong?" He asked. Obviously something was, but he asked anyway.

"We have a serious problem" she said, eyes blazing.

...xxxxXXXxxxx...

The meeting place the speaker gave was a parking lot near one of the Geofront's exits. At this time in the early evening most of the personnel had gone home, so the lot was mostly empty. Ordinarily this was the closest any non-employee could get without an armed guard 'convincing' them to leave. A pair of Section-2 agents, NERV's personal secret service, accompanied him. Along with four tactical assault teams armed with machine guns hiding nearby. One did not become the commander of NERV by being foolish.

The speaker said that he would know when they arrived. After waiting only a few minutes he received his confirmation of the stranger in the way of a vehicle. A very distinctive vehicle.

An large black van pulled into the lot like it was the undisputed king. That type of van looked like some cheap filmmaker's idea of a secret police, though it had seen better days. Several dents were scattered around, there was a crack in the windshield, and a layer of rust covered the roof. The van stopped about twenty feet from the commander and his two escorts. The headlights flicked off and both the driver and passenger doors opened.

The light was getting dim, but not so much that Gendo couldn't see the pair. The driver was a Westerner and looked like a second world war Nazi with his black trench coat and black uniform-like outfit, especially with his pale skin and whitish hair. The passenger was much different, wearing some strange brown robes that obscured almost every feature. He couldn't even tell the gender, though he\she was much shorter and walked with an apparent slouch. The pair stood side by side about arms reach apart.

"Commander Ikari I presume?" The driver asked. Gendo and his escorts blinked in surprise. There was little doubt, he was the one who called him earlier. It wasn't impossible for a westerner to speak japanese, but it was certainly rare. Gendo quickly hid his surprise.

"Yes. Are you the representative?" He asked, tone hopefully making it clear that he wasn't joking around. The man didn't react to the challenge.

"The leader to be accurate" the man corrected, still in the monotone that was much like someone else the commander knew.

"What do you want" Gendo demanded.

"Cooperation. Our short term goals are nearly identical" he said. Gendo narrowed his eyes.

"And why would I do that?" He taunted.

"A yes or no will suffice" the man said blandly. He showed no sign of being afraid or intimidated.

"I believe the answer is obvious" Gendo almost growled. The man's companion let out a small sigh.

"I was afraid of that" the westerner said, sounding regretful. Gendo heard a footstep behind him and spun around. Coming from where the assault teams were hidden were a dozen soldiers carrying rifles and wearing black uniforms that he didn't recognize. He quickly spun back around, idly noting the two agents looked terrified.

The companion lifted his/her hood covered head. Under it there was only darkness. A symbol glowed near where the eyes should be, and everything went blank.

...xxxxXXXxxxx...

Along the way back to Misato's apartment they stopped for groceries at a small convenience store nearby. Never in his life was Shinji so glad to be on solid land. He figured her reckless driving before was due to the Angel, but that was only slightly worse than her normal method. Inside the store she grabbed multiple packs of beer and some bland t.v. dinner meals while he grabbed some actual food ingredients, quietly scoffing at her normal diet and making changing it his immediate goal.

At the checkout line he overheard two women gossiping about the attack. It was quite clear they were scared, and were getting out of this city as soon as possible. Shinji did his best to focus on the checkout, lest their fear and doubt get to him. All too soon the food (and beer, lots of beer) was in his hands outside her apartment while she unlocked the door.

He stood in the doorframe for a minute, realizing this was a life changing moment.

"I'm home" he said softly.

...xxxxXXXxxxx...

Misato wouldn't willingly admit it, but she was glad to have Shinji as a roommate. Her idea was more spontaneous than anything, but it was obviously paying off. Her trash strewn apartment was quickly cleaned up (she kept meaning to do it herself, but the hours she put in prevented that), much of her fridge was cleaned out, and he was clearly a skilled cook. Not that he would admit it, he was too modest for his own good sometimes. All this in a single afternoon.

Having some company for her other roommate was a boon as well.

Despite being a mostly healthy teenage boy, Shinji nearly had a heart attack when Pen-Pen, her pet warm water penguin, stole the tuna he was going to use for the meal when he peeked inside her walk-in freezer out of curiosity. For a boy he sure screamed loud.

By evening Misato was lounging on her couch with a cold beer in hand and eyes on the television while Shinji made supper. She felt a little guilty, he deserved at least a high quality take-out meal, or at least her cooking, but she was too tired. Besides, he didn't seem like the kind of person who liked that sort of thing anyway. Her cordless house phone ringing cancelled her thoughts.

"Hello?" Shinji asked when he picked up the phone. Misato was already on her feet to get it when he did. He listened for a moment before offering the phone.

"Its for you" he said, turning back to the kitchen. Misato put the machine to her ear.

"Hello miss Katsuragi" a Kyushu accented voice asked.

"Whos this?" Misato asked.

"An interested individual. I am at the moment parked in the parking lot outside of your building. Would you mind coming down?" He asked conversationally.

"Um, why?" She asked warily.

"Lets just say you wont regret it" he said. The line clicked dead. Misato looked at the phone questioningly, unintentionally mirroring Shinji's actions earlier today.

"Something wrong?" Shinji asked from the kitchen. Misato debated telling him, but decided against it.

"Nah I'm fine. There's something I need to take care of first" she said, internally wincing at her forced cheerfulness.

"Okay. Don't be gone too long, suppers almost ready" he said with a shrug. Misato grabbed her coat and phone and exited the apartment. Before she left she made sure her sidearm was with her.

Once she made it to the parking lot she looked around, searching for whoever called. The task was made much harder because of the dark. It occurred to her that she had absolutely no idea what to look for, and she left her ward alone. Panic started to overcome her when she heard a whistle behind her. She spun around and reached for her sidearm. What she saw was not what she was expecting.

A white man leaned against an orange car and was waving to her, and he was dressed in black. Black uniform pants, black shirt, and a knee length black overcoat. Even for a westerner he had pale skin. Cautiously she approached him, hand on her gun the entire time. He either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Misato Katsuragi?" He asked. She wasn't entirely sure, but he sounded like the man on the phone.

"Who are you?" She asked carefully. Now that she was closer, she saw that the orange car was a classical American muscle car. She want well versed with classics, but knew enough to tell this want something you saw every day. Idly she wondered how fast it could go.

"I go by a number of names. But for now, I roll with Slavic" he said. Misato's eyebrow went up. Partially out of his japanese fluency, and partially at his name.

"Slavic?" She asked, unsure if he was serious. He waved his arm in dismissal.

"Believe what you want to believe" he said. Misato's grip on her gun lessened but didn't release.

"Is there a reason you called me down here? And how did you get my number?" She asked, slightly harsher than intended.

"Phone book" he said, apparently oblivious to her tone. Either he was tone deaf or simply didn't care. A quick glare from her prompted him to continue.

"That green Eva that killed the Angel belongs to me" he said. It took a moment for Misato to process the impact of his statement. After a moment of her brain telling her that was simply impossible he spoke again.

"And I want you to meet it's pilot"

...xxxxXXXxxxx...

The apartment's door opened and misato walked in.

"Just in time too" Shinji called. Supper was ready and waiting. He was mostly sure it was far better than her usual fare.

"Um, shinji? Could you come here for a moment?" Misato asked. She looked shook up, Shinji wondered what happened.

"Is something wrong?" He asked hesitantly as he came to the door.

"Well, um, you remember earlier? The green Eva?" She asked carefully. Shinji's blood ran cold. The image of that thing miming shooting him came back in force.

"Yeeeaah" he replied, almost frightened.

"Well, it's pilot is outside, and wants to meet you" she said with a small sigh. Shinji's breathe caught in his throat as the door opened.

Shinji had an idea of what the pilot might look like. His mental image settled on a grim faced teenager (since Misato explained that only people born after Second Impact could pilot), used to fighting, and held all others in contempt. From the thing's gesture, probably a sadist. For some reason the image looked like a Nazi soldier he saw in a film a while ago. Probably clad in a biker's outfit as well. He wasn't sure why, but the image didnt change.

What he was not expecting was a red haired girl in a green dress, smiling and saying:

"Hola!"

**A/n: Thanks to Ifightforusers for reviewing. I was originally planning for this chapter and the last one to be one, but I was about 3/4 way done when I realized it was way too big. In case anyones wondering, no one has died.**

**Yet.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Still nothing owned, obviously.**

"Hi. My full name is Rosita Hierro Anáhuac, but my friends call me Rose" is how the smiling girl introduced herself to Shinji after her initial greeting, speaking fluent japanese but with the strangest accent he ever heard. Rose had pale skin (though nowhere near as much as the older white man that accompanied her), pinkish red hair that went to her shoulders, and red eyes that were several shades lighter than Ayanami's. She wore a green blouse and skirt, and oddly enough a grey-brown pair of what looked like Eva nerve clips above her ears.

_Must be a fashion statement or something_, Shinji thought. The only thing he got right was the age, fourteen or so. His view on her was conflicted. One one hand she was the pilot of the machine that in all likelihood would have killed him if given the chance, the reason not was most likely the man that spoke quietly to Misato. On the other hand she was bright and cheerful, calling him Shinji the moment he told her his name and asking him all sorts of questions about himself. She waved off any concerns about the subject matter, and didnt seem to mind how boring he seemed.

The man hadn't said more than a quick greeting to him since he arrived. He seemed more interested in talking to Misato, but didn't want to speak too much while either teen was in the room. Shinji personally thought he looked like an extra for a WW2 Nazi film, with his black uniform like outfit and long overcoat, to say nothing of the fact that he apparently hadn't seen the sun in years. He did see a quick glance inside his jacket when he sat down. The butt of a handgun hung under his armpit, something that begged trouble.

In all, this was shaping up as the single weirdest day in Shinji's life.

It would end up becoming number two.

He didn't plan on guests, but there was enough of the ramen soup for all four to have a bowl, provided that no one wanted a second helping. No one did. Throughout the meal awkward small talk was exchanged, more out of social convention than anything. No mention was made of anyone's work, the Evas, or Angels. After an eternity that lasted fifteen minutes everyone had their fill. Shinji was grabbing bowls and leaving to wash the dishes, a perfectly reasonable excuse to get away when the man said:

"Rose, he's had a long day. Do you mind helping him out?" He said, speaking fluent Japanese. The girl, Rose, nodded and followed Shinji to the kitchen. Once the two teens were out of earshot he leaned in close to Misato, sparing glances at the kitchen often.

"Okay, start talking" Misato whispered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Rei Ayanami, eh?" Rose commented.

"Thats her name" Shinji confirmed, grabbing a spoon encrusted with some unidentifiable stuff and trying to scrub it off.

"So, where are you from?" Rose asked conversationally, changing the subject. What they did was systematic; Shinji would wash the item, and he would hand it to rose to rinse and stack. Ordinarily he would dry it as well, but tonight he wasn't feeling up to it. The supper mess was negligible, but there was still a significant pile of dirty dishes that shinji had been putting off for some time. They had already gone through half of it.

"Um, Tokyo-2. But, I guess I'm staying here for now" he said. His fear had mostly subsided, he was unable to reconcile the nice girl standing next to him and the monster that threatened him earlier.

"What about you?" he asked with some forced cheer.

"La Paz, Mexico" she answered. Shinji looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Really?" He asked, interested.

"I'm still from planet Earth" she said, shrugging. She pointed at his hands and Shinji realized that he had stopped cleaning. With an embarrassed sigh he picked up the pace.

"How long have you been a pilot?" He asked. Idly he thought that she was quite pretty, and then squashed that thought with the force of an oncoming train.

"Since I was six. Yourself?" Rose replied offhandedly.

"Um, since one o'clock" he admitted, embarrassed. Rose set the plate she'd been rinsing and looked at him with clear amazement.

"You just became a pilot _today_?" She asked, tone unbelieving. She didn't notice some water dripping on her skirt.

"The only other pilot they had was injured. Badly. If Rei had gone out..." He trailed off. Rose shook her head in disbelief, muttering something incomprehensible to Shinji under her breath. Shinji wanted to talk to her more; how did she become a pilot, how long has she known the man out there, why did she threaten him earlier (that was still on the forefront of his mind), but the man called:

"Rose, time to go"

"It was nice talking to you. Later" Rose said, looking at him apologetically before leaving. The door shut, and only Shinji, Misato, and Pen-Pen were left. Misato entered the kitchen, looking much paler than earlier.

"Um, Shinji" she started. Shinji waved his arm.

"Whatever it is, its fine. I know its not your job, but would you help me with whats left?" He asked. Misato sighed and obliged him. In short order what was left was stacked into a sizable pile that he would take care of tomorrow.

"Listen, for what its worth, I'm proud of you. You did good today, even though you didn't kill it. And I'm glad you're staying around" she said softly.

"Thank you" Shinji murmured, feeling unfamiliar pride.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxx

For Shinji, he next three weeks passed by in a blur. Misato's apartment was tidied up on the first day, but a truly dedicated effort was needed to make it clean by his standards, which he did whenever he could. Shinji was enrolled in the local school, though it would be a while before he actually attended; with all the training going on. He got his own plug suit, an outfit (mostly dark blue with white upper chest and shoulders, complete with 01 stenciled on the chest) which revealed as much as it covered. The benefit of not having to thoroughly clean every square inch of himself was a welcome trade off for the skin tight suit.

Ritsuko wasn't lying when she said he was in for a crash course. In a small amount of time he learned what an A.T. field was (at least as much as he could, most of the concepts and sciences were well beyond him), how it was supposed to be used in combat, both offense and defense, and most importantly how to use it. The teacher Ritsuko assigned him helped immensely.

"Now concentrate. Don't force control, it wastes effort and time" the emotionless yet knowledgable voice of Rei said over the intercom. Shinji did as ordered, and sure enough a faint orange hexagon shimmered in front of the Eva, practicing in the green expanse of the Geofront.

In less than a week her life threatening injuries had healed, leaving only bandages. Ritsuko explained her rapid recovery as the result of having the best medical care on earth. One of the perks of the job in other words. Without her, Shinji thought he wouldn't be nearly as far along as he was. Despite his glaring ignorance in most matters related to the Eva she never raised her voice, and always explained everything in detail. She was always polite, and always pointed out his mistakes and how to fix them rather than simply giving up. No matter what he did she had endless patience to deal with it. He was glad to have her around, even if he only saw her during training.

The fact of how good looking she was didn't influence his thinking. Much. While he was piloting.

He memorized the locations of all the elevators, armories, and defensible positions in Tokyo-3. He discovered how to project an A.T. field and both protect himself and cancel out the Angel's own field. He learned basic combat training, and how to fight with a knife. In just three weeks he learned how to pilot. Not very well, but that was only to be expected.

Rose visited him a few times at the apartment, but never for long. She claimed she had her own training regimen that ate up much of her time. She didn't say where her Eva was, only that it was called Unit Alpha. There was a technical name for it, but everyone called it that for simplicity's sake. She did say she had made a new friend, a girl named Hikari, and that she wanted to introduce him to her.

The man always accompanied her, but also kept his distance, typing on a labtop or talking on a cellphone. Shinji hadn't said more than five words to him since he first saw him, though Rose did tell him his name was Slavic. Shinji also noticed what he drove, a classical American muscle car painted a distinctive orange. After a training session one day he asked Rose if she knew what it was.

"1969 Chevrolet Nova SS" Rose told him with a wistful smile. That car, or a car like it, was destined to have her behind its wheel someday, Shinji thought at the time. Oddly enough every time Shinji saw her she still had the little pair of clips on her head. Always in the same spot too, above and slightly behind her ears. He made it a goal to ask her about them, but never found a chance to bring it up. She never mentioned anything about them.

Three weeks. Not once did he see his father.

The time ended one night when Misato said: "Don't forget, school starts tomorrow" while nursing a beer.

"Can I get home-schooled or something?" He asked hopefully. She laughed in response. And so Shinji Ikari entered the most traumatic experiences modern man had ever created.

High school.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Leaving a re-heatable meal in the fridge, Shinji left for school. He was going to ask Misato for a ride, but a quick glance in her bedroom revealed a blanket, a splayed arm, and a small army of beer cans. The last is what killed that notion. So he decided to walk. The morning weather was warm, by noon it would be sweltering. Another effect of Second Impact, seasons for this part of the globe divided into Hot, and Not so Hot. This time of the year fell into the former.

Along the way he did what he usually did while walking; listen to music on his SDAT. It was an old thing, battered and worn, but it was his. Once upon a time it belonged to his father. While he would deny it, it was the reason he kept it. Other people of may ages and backgrounds walked and jogged around him, but he ignored them. As he normally did. He kept enough situational awareness to watch for obstacles, but that was all.

He walked, surrounded by people but inherently alone. Agents of two opposite groups watched him carefully, as they did whenever he left the apartment. One side's masters would be pleased at his state, it made their plans easier. The other side, new to the area but just as experienced, their masters would make cautious plans to change that. Neither made their presence known; it wasn't their place to do so.

He arrived at the school half an hour before class was supposed to start. Checking the map, he found the class he was assigned to, 2-A. Dutifully he found the room, continuing as he had before. Ignoring everyone around him, he didn't hear the whispers the amazement at two new kids in as many weeks and the possible connection between him and the giant robot.

He walked in and found to his surprise that Rei was in the same class. She sat by the window, staring out of it at apparently nothing. He wanted to go over and talk to her, but years of isolation prevented that. Instead of talking, he picked an empty seat in the middle of the class and sat down. The conversation between the three other students in the class continued on uninterrupted. Interested, Shinji tuned in.

"Calm down man, you'll get us yelled at" a glasses wearing kid cautioned, already in his seat. The boy he spoke to looked at him with controlled anger.

"That stupid idiot. He could have gotten someone killed" the boy said angrily, leaning against a desk. While the glasses wearing kid looked like the poster child of geeks everywhere, he looked like an average jock.

"She's alive. Be thankful for that Touji" the third, a freckle face girl with pigtails, said with authority. Shinji noted that all three were either his age or close to it. None of them paid any attention to Rei, and she to them.

"By the way, I checked some of my sources. The army was surprised that two Evas showed up. Apparently they were told there'd be only one" the glasses wearing boy said.

"Really?" The girl asked. The jock was too busy fuming to respond.

"Yeah. And the second one, did you see the footage? Its similar, but the armor configuration is way different than the purple one" he continued.

"And it has wings and it cam fly" the jock, Touji, said with the tone of someone who'd heard it all before. A dozen students entered the class, followed by an aged man that could only be the teacher. The freckled girl went to the front of the class and barked "Stand! Bow! Sit!" in such a way to make an army drill sergeant proud. Obediently the reduced class (many had left after the attack) obeyed, Shinji among them.

Barely an hour had gone by before Shinji began wishing for home-school again, now for a different reason. The teacher droned on endlessly about Second Impact and the damage caused by it. No other topic, no other issue, just a continuous monologue that went on, and on, and on. Shinji did notice that his classmates used the time to talk and gossip amongst themselves, quietly of course. The freckled girl made sure no one spoke too loudly.

Since this was a modern school, each of the desks in the class had a built in computer. While they had many uses, they served as an excellent makeshift email network. Shinji found this out when a message popped up on the small screen. _**Are you the pilot of the robot? Y\N**_. He looked around and saw two girls hunched over a desk. They looked at him and giggled before turning back to the computer. A moment later another message popped up: **_The purple or the green one?_**

He looked at the screen for a moment, wondering what to respond with. Yes, and likely be arrested for treason. Evas were supposed to be top secret, though apparently everyone here had at least heard of them. No, and have his life go on unchanged, be subjected to rumors, and then people would likely find out anyway. His decision was more snap than anything. He replied **_Purple_**.

The reaction was instantaneous. Almost every student in the class crowded him, excitedly asking him questions. How do you become a pilot? Is there an age limit? How does it feel to actually do it? All these and more were asked. He tried answering as best as he could, both embarrassed and elated at the attention he was getting.

Only four people didn't crowd him. Hikari, who was doing her best to restore order and failing, Touji, who ceased fuming and stared at Shinji with murderous intent, the teacher, who miraculously hadn't noticed anything, and Rei, who was still staring out the window, oblivious to everything. Only a mind reader could tell that she was intensely curious at why he revealed his status. She briefly wondered if she would receive such a reaction if she told them she too was a pilot.

Her musing and the class's excitement ceased at the same time by the lunch bell going off.

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What no one in the room knew was at that moment a warship patrolling nearby had detected a massive radar signature that was rapidly approaching. Checking the incoming data, they found it was much like the thing that attacked three weeks ago. The thing that single handily took down a sizable U.N. force. The captain deliberated for all of two minutes before relaying the information to NERV.

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_I really should've seen that coming_, Shinji thought. Right after he managed to get away from the crowd Touji had walked up to him looking furious. He had a second to open his mouth before Touji's fist came flying at him, impacting his jaw and knocking him to the ground.

"Sorry 'bout that. He has anger issues you know" the glasses wearing boy said apologetically, following Touji. Touji just stood there, breathing heavily.

Shinji groaned, feeling a dribble of blood and saliva drip down his chin.

"Sorry new kid. Had to do that. You know what sucks? You don't even know what you did" Touji said, much calmer now that the object of his anger was dealt with.

"His little sister was hurt bad in the last battle" glasses said. Shinji groaned again and tried to get up. Glasses offered a hand, and he gladly took it.

"Kensuke Aida, at your service. The bull here that about knocked you out is Touji Suzahara" glasses introduced as he yanked Shinji up, much stronger than he seemed. Shinji grabbed a quick breath before speaking.

"I'm sorry man. I'm sorry I hurt your sister" he wheezed. Touji glared at him for a moment before his features softened.

"I don't forgive you. But, just be careful from now on" he said, partially struggling to get the words out. He took one more look at Shinji before leaving, walking faster than he normally would. Kensuke blinked in surprise.

"Wow. He forgives you for hurting his sister. Thats a first" Kensuke said before trotting off after him. Shinji stood alone for a moment, wondering if he unintentionally made a new friend. A shadow behind him caught his attention, and he turned around. Looking as emotionless as ever, Rei stood behind him.

"An Angel is approaching" she said softly. Five seconds later a loud alarm began braying, the Angel alarm. She turned around and ran in the direction of a hidden NERV entrance. Ignoring his bruised jaw, he ran after her.

_This day just keeps getting better and better_, he thought.


	6. Chapter 5

**I own nothing, all rights belong to their respective owners.**

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**The word just came through. There's another one incoming.**

_First a fifteen year gap, now three weeks. Next thing you know they're coming every hour._

Doesn't matter. We do our jobs and kill these things.

_I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but your running the bill up pretty high._

**So?**

Look, the sooner we win, the sooner you can get back to your banks and away from us.

**I took the liberty of calling Rose. Alpha is ready to launch at you command.**

Thanks. Soon the next phase will start, and the operation will really kick into gear.

_Assuming the Angel doesnt trash the Evas and destroy the world._

**Ever the optimist eh?**

_Bite me. I'm not paid enough to be optimistic_.

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For an injured girl that was barely a week out of the hospital, Rei moved fast. Shinji wasn't exactly out of shape, but he had a hard time keeping up even though she kept her pace down. Humanity's last hope was trying his best to focus on remembering all the training he was rushed through, and not panicking. The fear written on the shelter bound people around him didn't help.

He had no idea where he was going; he decided to trust in her direction. Rei paused long enough to open the door of a closed shop. Shinji barely caught up before the door opened and revealed a small tram car into NERV. She motioned him inside.

"This way" she said, lacking any emotion and any sign of exertion.

"Thanks" Shinji said, showing strong signs of it himself. He trotted inside, not noticing her perplexed expression as she followed him in. The ride from an entrance not far from the school to the Eva cages took only a few minutes. The entire way Shinji spent trying to calm himself, and to remember his hasty training. When the two pilots made it to the Geofront they parted ways; Shinji to change, Rei to parts unknown.

Once he reached the locker room, in what must have been record time he changed his clothes from the school uniform of Tokyo-3's municipal schools to his blue and white plug suit. The very revealing plug suit. Fortunately the lockers connected directly to the cages, both as a quick route for efficiency and the nature of the outfits.

In total, in less than fifteen minutes he went from average teenager to savior of the world.

On the catwalk to Unit 01, Misato was waiting for him. She motioned him to get closer, to tell him something without someone overhearing. She leaned in close, and despite the situation Shinji couldn't help but notice how professional she looked.

"You-know-who called. Rose is on her way" she whispered furtively.

"Gotcha" Shinji whispered back, nodding.

"Good luck out there" she said, backing away. The heads up given, she took off for the bridge, and he to the waiting plug.

He buckled himself in while the hatch closed. Like the first time, like every time he got in in fact, the moment the top sealed LCL flooded the tube. This time, Shinji didn't panic. It was hard to resist instinct, and he took a gulp of air before being completely submerged. Reluctantly he released the breath, letting the blood tasting stuff enter his mouth. The Eva began moving towards the rail elevator at a careful but brisk pace.

In the command center tense order ruled. Compared to three weeks ago, most of the various personnel who were responsible for an uncountable number of small issues were calm, or at least subdued. Death wasn't coming uncontested, now most believed that they stood a decent chance. On the bridge cautious optimism was the main attitude.

"We're all gonna die" Lt Aoba muttered. The two other lieutenants, scientific advisor, and operations director ignored him.

"Status on the target?" Misato ordered, in full professional mode.

"Target has breached local airspace, it will enter the defensive perimeter in approximately five minutes at current velocity" Lt. Makoto Hyuga reported. On the screen Unit 01 arrived at the elevator.

"Eva unit launch" Misato commanded. Electric rails activated, and the Eva shot towards the surface. Inside the plug Shinji gritted his teeth. The G-forces were not as bad as the first time, but they were still rough.

Ritsuko was checking over his vitals when she heard the lift behind the bridge rising. Turning to it, she saw the last person she expected.

"Rei?" She asked, confused. Looking the model of statuesque, Rei Ayanami stood at attention, still in her school uniform and several bandages. She didn't change into her plug suit; no reason since Unit 00 was still on lockdown.

"I wish to see the battle" she said softly. Ritsuko glanced upward, but the commander gave no indication of caring. Just the reflective glare of his glasses. She sighed.

"Any particular reason?" She asked. On the screen Unit 01 was nearly to the surface.

"My life life may depend on him. I wish to measure his competency" she replied, deadpan as always. Ritsuko sighed again; she noticed that she seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Fine, you can stay" she said. Rei nodded and stood back, she still had a good view but wasn't in the way of the others. In truth, she wanted to see the green Eva for herself. The reason for that being simple curiosity. To those who knew her, that would be a shocking revelation.

"Pattern orange detected, closing in fast" Lt. Ibuki reported. The tenseness of the room magnified.

A large inconspicuous square in the middle of the street opened and two enormous rails extended into the sky. Unit 01 hit the end of the rails and like clockwork the many clamps that held the titan in place disengaged. Once a clamp attached the nuclear fed power cable the rails shrunk and retreated, as if fleeing the oncoming battle.

Shinji took a deep breath to calm his nerves; in the LCL the effect was diminished. He scanned his surroundings and noted that the city was in fortress mode; only a few armories and cover buildings were not retracted. His training, while hasty and rushed, was thorough in the memorizing of where the weapon buildings were located.

"Okay Shinji, listen up" Misato ordered. Several green highlights appeared around the still standing buildings.

"The Angel isnt in the city yet, so grab a rifle and take cover" she commanded. An alert caught his attention. Having a good idea what it was, he turned to the direction of the mountains, ignoring her order.

Flying over the mountains was the green form of Unit Alpha, like an eagle. Now that it was daylight, Shinji could see a number of details that were not noticeable last time. The shoulders had compact rounded plates as opposed to his pylons. Much of the armor was curved instead of blocky, and the chin seemed smaller. The wings were solid, and they sprouted from the center of the back out of some kind of pack. The entire thing was woodland green, but it wasn't a camo pattern.

To the side of his seat a pane popped into view, showing an incoming communication message. Shinji nodded, not actually knowing how to activate it. The pane expanded and showed a staticky view of a grinning pilot known as Rose.

"_Hola ojos azules_" she said. The view inside of her plug showed it was similar to his, a seat with two butterfly handles. It looked like she wore a similar green outfit to his, though it seemed to have extra padding. Oddly enough she wore two pairs of nerve clips; the brownish grey set that she always wore towards the back of her head, and a white pair that was identical to his close to her forehead.

"You ready for this?" She asked, still grinning. Alpha came came closer, and with a mighty flap of its wings it touched down in the middle of the street. It slumped downwards, and Shinji could see the wings retracting. He briefly wondered how those things could fit in so small a space. In less than ten seconds Alpha stood up straight. It was then that he noticed the two large knives attached to it's hips.

"Shinji, grab a weapon" Misato commanded, reminding him of the situation. Quickly he grabbed a pallet rifle from a waiting armory. Somehow managing to swagger in a thirty story robot, Rose did the same.

"Alright Anáhuac, can I count on you to follow orders?" Misato asked tensely. On Shinji's screen her grin widened. Something was different about Rose, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"_Cosa segura jefe_" she said. If any of them had looked closer, or the video quality was better, they would have noticed something wrong with her eyes. Misato began giving orders.

"Alright then. Now the Angel is approaching from the western perimeter, so you'll ne-" she was cut off by a nearby building sliding apart diagonally. Shinji and Rose jumped back, both spotting a glowing tentacle curling up high on the air.

The cleanly sliced chunk of what was an office building crashed to the ground. Behind it the Angel floated. While the first was humanoid, this one looked like a strange kind of sea-life. It was broken into three segments, a head, a torso with a multitude of crab like legs pinching and moving, and a rear that they couldn't see well. The top was a dark purple while the underside was a deep red. Sprouting from its head were two enormous tentacles that glowed with power.

They launched themselves at the two mecha. Rose bit off a curse Shinji didn't understand and jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the lash. Shinji wasn't so fast, the tentacle scoring a hit on his forearm. He tumbled into a building and scrambled behind it. A burst of fire from the other side reminded him that he too had a weapon.

"Listen!" Rose shouted. Far from scared, she sounded almost angry. The Angel lashed both tentacles at her, slicing a building into ribbons but once again narrowly missing her.

"I'll run around the side and shoot. While its distracted, you rush up and stab that _cabron_" she barked. Shinji leaned over the building and pulled the trigger. Bullets the size of artillery rounds slammed into a shimmering orange field, doing nothing but turning its attention to him. Floating off the ground it approached him.

"Or not" she muttered. Shinji continued to shoot until the clip emptied. Lacking another option, he threw the train car sized rifle at the thing's face. A quick lash of its tentacle sliced the weapon in half. Unit 01's shoulder pylon opened on shinji's mental command, and the progressive knife found its way into his palm. Both the tentacles raised high into the air, preparing to strike. Rose took the chance and leaped from her cover. With a banshee war cry she dived at the monster with both oversized knives in hand.

What she was aiming for was to stab it in the back and expose its core. What happened was the two tentacles shot towards her, wrapping around her wrists and slamming the green Eva onto the pavement, knocking the knives away. The tentacles raised again and slammed against the mech, her A.T. field protecting her from the worst of the damage but not all.

Shinji froze, briefly terrified. Then he saw it. Just like the first, a red orb set on its torso. Feeling the knife in his hand, he leaped. From what Dr. Akagi told him Angels couldn't be hurt until their fields were neutralized. Rushing up, he felt little resistance and realized was what Rose was doing, keeping its defenses down for him to strike.

With a yell he thrust the knife forward. The blade neatly cracked the red sphere, splitting it apart. The Angel let out an ear shattering screech, and the tentacles, raised for another blow, solidified and crashed to the ground. Quickly followed by the remainder of the monster. It twitched once in a massive spasm, and was still.

"One for one _ojos azules_" Rose said, her face on the video scowling. Using a building for support Alpha brought itself to it's feet.

"Next time save on the dramatics and kill the damn thing" she said. Looking around, she spied her twin knives and retrieved them. The wings unfurled from the back.

"Your extra gun is set over there" she said, pointing with Alpha's finger.

"Thanks for the help" Shinji said appreciably. Somehow, the green Eva shrugged.

"Its what I do" she said. Alpha crouched and leaped into the sky, wings flapping. In a few seconds it was airborne. In a minute it vanished over the rest of the mountain. Shinji never realized the Angel cut his power cable until the machine suddenly went dark.

In the command center most of the personnel still managed to be calm.

"I think he did well" Lt. Hyuga commented.

"So, we and whoever owns that thing are working together now?" Ritsuko asked rhetorically. Rei said nothing for the entire battle. Her opinion on the commander's son's competency was raised several degrees, and her curiosity regarding Alpha was satisfied for now.

On a faraway hill some distance from the school, Kensuke and Touji saw the entire battle after sneaking out of the school shelter. Touji had to admit, he was impressed.

"Man, having to fight things like that, its amazing he's still sane" he voiced out loud. His best friend meanwhile was busy having a joygasm.

"That was so cool!" he shouted enthusiastically.

**I actually had a lot of trouble with this one, every time I wrote the action it seemed too short, or seemed too rehearsed. I'm still not satisfied, but this will do.**


	7. Chapter 6

**In hindsight, using a language I am ignorant of was a poor decision.**

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_That last battle could have gone better._

**Referring to the dented armor?**

_Yeah. I realize she had the drop on the first Angel, thats how she killed it so easy, but still._

**Why are you always such a downer?**

_Its the way I am. Get over it._

**Whatever you say.**

_Whats that?_

**What, this?**

_That report. Gimme._

**You like?**

_..._

**What?**

_Slavic is going to be ten shades of pissed when he reads this_.

Reads what?

_Take a look._

...

**You like as well?**

...Your not serious. Theres no way this is anything but a prank.

_Agreed. For once._

**Its true. Not as optimistic as it says, but true nonetheless.**

And people call me a monster.

_You are. But you know, despite how wrong and immoral that is, I can actually see its usefulness._

How?

_If you use...them...during phase 7, and perhaps for many of our other operations, It'll free up many of those Special Forces assets that we're using. Use them for something else_.

**Thats what I thought. Better yet, if we send a few samples to Deforce or another major lab, they could reverse engineer the tech, keep our edge nice and sharp.**

I hate both of you. With all my heart.

_We love you too. So whats the word?_

Fine. We're doing it.

**For starters, lets buy up some politicals from Brazil or China or wherever. That'll get their numbers up.**

_Even better, using the tech fits into the Plan._

**How?**

_C'mon, look at what these bastards have for gear. Its better than anything else out there, even the Bots._

I thought your specialty was banking, not R&D.

_I'm a jack of all trades. Aren't we all?_

**True.**

Alright. For now, we'll focus on honing them. When Phase 7 hits, there'll be a lot more assets available to hunt down Seele.

**I knew you'd love it.**

Shut up Su-

_Ladies, back to business?_

**Alright.**

Fine. By the way, Tribal, your in charge of this.

**Crap.**

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One would figure that by saving the human race for the second consecutive time in a single month that some allowances would be made. That assumption held true in the respect that Shinji didnt have to return to school that day. Instead he spent the rest of that day in the infirmary, undergoing a variety of medical examinations, followed by narrowly avoiding Misato's cooking. The next day on the other hand...

"Here we go again" he mumbled, standing outside the school gates. If not for the phantom pain from the Angel's whips striking his forearm, he would believe this was his first day and yesterday was just an especially vivid nightmare. Head bowed, he passed through the gates.

Unlike yesterday, he was paying attention to the chatter and gossip that followed him. Excited whispers about him killing the Angel abounded, the question of how to sign up came up repeatedly, one girl (who didnt look half bad) wondered out loud if he was single. He was tempted to tell them how it actually worked: pain, terror, great responsibility, and more pain. He decided that revealing himself as a pilot was too much as is.

Arriving at class 2-A, Shinji noticed that the class seemed fuller. People's confidence was apparently high enough to stay in the city rather than fleeing. The jock, Touji, was present, along with his apparent friend Kensuke, hanging out in the back of the class like yesterday. They waited until Shinji took his seat before approaching him.

"Hey man" Touji said, sounding solemn. Just as before he was clad in a tracksuit as opposed to the school uniform that the other boys were wearing. Kensuke stood behind him, a small video camera in hand.

"He wants to say he's sorry" Kensuke said. Touji shot him a dirty look before looking back at Shinji. He sighed.

"Yeah. Okay, so, since I hit you, you got to hit me back" Touji almost stuttered. Despite popular belief, concepts like honor or fair play were not beyond him, he just had a hard time expressing them. In his view, since he clocked Shinji, he should clock him back. Hit for hit. Shinji took a minute to process that.

"No" he answered. Touji had a blank look of utter confusion on his own face. Kensuke only looked perplexed as more chatting students filed in.

"How about I'll just call it a favor. Save it for later and leave it at that. Friends?" he offered. Touji opened his mouth to reply when Kensuke cut him off.

"Check it out! The new girl!" He whispered excitedly, trying and failing to keep discreet. Shinji turned around to see what he was talking about. Whatever thoughts he had fizzled and died in time to his dropping jaw.

Clad in a school uniform, clutching a small book bag, and chatting animatedly with the freckled pig tailed girl from yesterday was the girl known as Rosita Hierro Anáhuac.

"Isnt she hot?" Kensuke whispered. Touji looked interested, the topic dead for now. Shinji's jaw dropped. Rose glanced over the other girl's shoulders and her face lit up. She tugged on her arm and led her towards the three boys.

"Hey class rep" Touji greeted.

"Morning Hikari" Kensuke greeted offhand, trying to look too engrossed at the wall than the girls in front of him. The name rung a bell in Shinji's head, and then it hit him; Rose mentioned she made a friend named Hikari a week ago.

"Hi guys" Rose greeted with a smile. She locked eyes with Shinji for a moment, but luckily for him the others didn't notice.

"This is my friend Rose Anahuc, wait, is that right?" She asked Rose.

"Anáhuac" she corrected.

"Right. Rose Anáhuac. Shes a foreign exchange student from-"

"La Paz, Mexico" Shinji interrupted, too shocked still to put much inflection in. Hikari raised an eyebrow.

"Thats right. How did you-" she began, but Shinji once again cut her off by quickly getting out of his seat.

"Um, Rose and I have a little matter to discuss, we'll justbeaminute" Shinji stuttered quickly, letting out a nervous laugh as he grabbed the Mexican's arm and all but dragged her out of the class. Once they were out the three students blinked in confusion.

"Master player" Kensuke mumbled in awe.

"You two notice that she wasn't in school yesterday?" Hikari mentioned, a train of thought going at full speed. Outside Shinji turned to Rose with a mixture of anger and full blown panic.

"What are you doing here!?" He whispered, sounding panicky. Rose yanked her arm out of his grasp and leveled a confused glance at him.

"Learning. Duh." She said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Shinji rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"No. Why are you here in this specific school!" He angrily whispered.

"I'm staying in Tokyo-3. The law says anyone under eighteen has to be in school. I'm fourteen. Ergo, I'm required to be in school. Seriously, you act like your surprised or something" she outlined casually, accompanied by a shrug. Shinji's forehead dropped.

"Are you following me?" He asked, exasperated.

"I enrolled here weeks ago and started last week, so thats a no" Rose answered calmly. She grabbed his arm.

"C'mon. Class is about to start" she said. Leading him much like he did her she pulled him back into the class. Whatever questions Shinji's new friends had were silenced by Hikari's excellent drill sergeant imitation of "Stand! Bow! Sit!"

Though Hikari was just as curious about what Shinji and Rose said as the two boys, she enforced silence for the entirety of the class. For three hours, the three could only speculate on just what exactly the two new students talked about. Three hours of the same endless lecture about second impact. Shinji spent much of that time trying to figure out a way to talk to her, try to get some answers. Oddly, the idea of using the desk computer never occurred to him.

After an eternity of purgatory the class was dismissed for lunch. Shinji got up to interrogate Rose, but noticed that she was approaching someone he did not expect. Someone no one was actually expecting.

"_Hola_. You're Rei Ayanami, aren't you?" she asked. The subject looked away from her vigil out the window and cooly regarded the friendly student.

"Yes" Rei answered. While most of the class filed out for lunch, the remainder saw the encounter. Their opinion ranged from low expectations to bewilderment. That the new foreign exchange student willingly went to speak to the school pariah; one who was quietly nicknamed the Ice Queen. One girl mentally chastised herself for not warning her earlier.

"I got some spare sandwiches. Want to share lunch?" Rose asked.

"Why" Rei asked without inflection. Rose shrugged.

"You look bored. Plus I've never seen anyone talk to you" Rose said casually. Rei continued to stare blankly at Rose. Inwardly she was confused. Plenty of people had tried to befriend her, but no one had persisted this much before.

"Whats the worst that could happen?" Rose asked hopefully, tempting fate. The class held its collective breath, even Shinji, who had no idea of Rei's reputation.

"Is there meat?" Rei quietly asked.

"No, peanut butter and jelly. Why?" Rose asked.

"I do not eat meat" Rei quietly replied.

"Sweet" Rose said, grinning. To the astonishment of everyone Rei Ayanami, A.K.A. the Ice Queen followed Rose out the door. Though Shinji was ignorant of the significance of this, his new friends were not.

"Someone cracked Ayanami's shell?" Kensuke asked in wonder, camera capturing the moment.

"Had to happen sometime" Touji said with a shrug.

"Has anyone ever actually talked to her?" Shinji asked them.

"I did, a while ago. She said yes and no. In that order" Touji answered.

"C'mon man, foods waiting" Kensuke urged.

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The rest of the day Rose and Rei spent talking and hanging out. Though to be accurate, Rose talked while Rei listened. It was obvious they were on the fast track to becoming good friends, but with Rei it was hard to tell. Although initially hesitant, Hikari joined them. This, combined with Touji and Kensuke dragging him along made any attempt to get more information moot.

Compared to the morning, the afternoon passed relatively quickly, but Rose vanished once school ended. One moment, she was gossiping with some girls, the next, she was gone, and no one knew what happened. On his way home he did get a message on his cell phone though, a voicemail.

"Sorry I had to beat it, sync test of my own that needs done. As for why I'm at your school, I already explained it. Until further notice I'm staying in Japan. And well, I cant pilot forever you know? Anyway, once this is done I'll pay a visit. Might invite Rei, shes quiet but a nice person. But i think you knew that already. Alright, later" is how it went. Shinji sighed. He regretted what he said. Apart from the piloting, she was just like anyone else. And the clips above her ears. He made a mental note, once again, to ask her about them.

Arriving at the building, he noticed a moving truck parked in the lot, and a couple of men shuttling boxes out of it and into the building.

"You cant be serious" he muttered in disbelief. Rationality said the odds of it being her moving in were slim to none, but he wasn't feeling too rational at the moment. Once he reached Misato's apartment, his fears were confirmed.

"Hey Shinji!" Misato greeted, still in decent clothes and on the fast track out of sobriety. She sat at the table with Slavic, two empty beer cans in front of her. Slavic wasn't wearing an overcoat or gloves, just a black tee shirt and black pants. He raised his own beer in a greeting.

"Take a wild guess who your new neighbors are" he said with a grin. Shinji dropped his school bag.

"Both of you?" Shinji asked in disbelief, moreso than earlier. Slavic nodded.

"Yeah. I paid your neighbors off with a wad of cash, convinced them to get out of Tokyo. Rose and I are moving in. Nice huh?"he explained.

"Seriously" Misato confirmed.

"Though to be honest, I'm going to be gone a lot, work and such. I'll usually just be here long enough to crash and rest for a couple hours. Mind cooking for four?" He asked, waving his arm to indicate everyone around him.

Pen-pen's freezer opened up and he waddled out. He took a glance around, lingering on Slavic for a second, and grabbed a newspaper. Before he returned he grabbed one of Misato's beers and then shut the door. Shinji and Slavic watched it happen with confusion.

"Did i just see a penguin grab a newspaper and a beer and then disappear into a freezer?" Slacic asked, confused. Misato shrugged.

"Hes been moody ever since we moved in here. I don't stick around long enough, works been eating up my time. With you kids here he might lighten up" Misato explained, sipping her beer. Slavic eyed his own beer with suspicion.

'Is there a single normal person in this city?" he asked rhetorically.

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Near the orbit of Saturn, a hole in time and space opened up. It lasted all of two minutes before it closed, but that was all the time it needed. A massive construct of crystal pulled itself out with speed that no human could have been able to explain and hung in the dark of space.

It waited. It wasn't supposed to be here, it wasn't its time.

This was a creature that defied all that man claimed to know with rapturous ease. A creature that has existed in myth for countless millennia, and only fifteen years ago discovered as truth. Its goal was simple, its fate was predetermined. It didn't mind. It knew no other option. No other path. Go to the world humans called Earth. Destroy the pests.

An Angel.

The process that formed its physical shape took a toll on its power, and it was tired. Or as close to tired as a creature possessing the Fruit of Life could get. So it waited. Its time was soon.

When it struck, the heavens shall sing in its glory.

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**Another down. By the way, I'm on the lookout for a beta reader, the sole requirement is you have to have at least passable spanish, since I don't know any. Review please! Seriously, I can't improve without knowing what to do.**


	8. Chapter 7

**1800 views, 12 followers, and 5 favorites. I was honestly not expecting that. Thank you all.**

NERV only had one shower room for its Pilots.

Only when Shinji joined the ranks did the major error in NERV's operation reveal itself. In hindsight, it should have been obvious. LCL was biological in nature, and once it dried the stuff turned itchy and flaky, and was a pain to clean. Standard procedure was to get out of the suit and washed as quickly as possible. That was part of the reason for the suits, it helped keep the pilot's mess to a minimum.

Since there was only one shower, that meant they had to clean at the same time. Now that Rei's Eva was functional again, or about to be, the awkwardness that most boys his age make itself blatantly obvious. Someone, Shinji didn't know who (likely Misato), had enough courtesy to hang a large sheet up and dividing the room into half. The sheet was thin enough that he could see Rei's silhouette but no details as they both dressed.

"Hey, um, Rei?" He asked hesitantly on his side.

"Yes?" she replied softly. Her movements didn't cease, and Shinji was distracted for a moment.

"Are you, um, nervous?" He asked, putting his legs into his own suit.

"About what?" Rei said, bordering on mechanical.

"The Eva. I mean, last time, it went berserk and you nearly died, right?" He said.

"Thats why you're here. Besides which, I am replaceable" she deadpanned. Shinji looked over with a questioning glance.

What does that mean? He thought. He decided to change the subject.

"Is, is my father overseeing the reactivation?" He asked.

"No" she said. Shinji was momentarily taken aback at that.

"Why not? I thought that..." He trailed off. He was going to say his father favored her over him.

"Commander Ikari and sub-commander Fuyutski have been in Antarctica with the U.N Atlantic fleet for the past month" she answered.

"Hes been in Antarctica?" Shinji asked with some confusion.

"Yes. You were not told?" she asked. Shinji dropped his head.

"No. No one told me" he said, dejected. He heard the hiss of her suit vacuum sealing itself. He let out a small sigh as he did the same to his. Only partly out of the sudden compression of his chest.

Rei walked out of the changing room to the cages with no more mind to her outfit than a bird through the air. Shinji followed her, doing his level best not to stare at her rear. For all his many problems, he was still a teenage boy. Fortunately for his sake, the distance between the showers and the cages was mercifully short. Dr. Akagi was waiting in front of the catwalks.

"Shinji, you're here as a precaution. In the event Unit 00 goes berserk again, your job is to restrain the Eva. Understood?" She asked, the ever present cigarette burning in her fingers.

"Understood" Shinji replied. Misato went over the game plan with him last night, when he arrived at NERV earlier, and before he went to go change. Dr. Akagi didn't need to go over it with him, but he wasn't going to disagree. Rei just stood at attention.

"Lets get started" she said, walking away. The two pilots parted ways to their respective Evas.

"Good luck" Shinji said to Rei before they were too far apart. She didn't react, or as far as he could see.

By now, the process of pre-piloting was almost a habit for Shinji. Nerve clips set on his skull, strapped in securely, hatch closing, and LCL flooding the tube. He barely held his breath when the stuff reached his nostrils. Oddly enough, he always expected it to be cold, even freezing. But no, the stuff was always near his body temperature. In less than a minute a slight distortion to his view was the only clue he had that he was immersed. That and the extra effort that went into breathing.

The flashing kaleidoscope of colors was nearly mundane. Now that his sync ratio was at a solid 55 percent he noticed that he could 'feel' what the Eva felt. Slight feelings of light breezes and gusts that rippled across the armor he now felt. For a brief moment he lost himself in them; it almost felt like he was outside on a clear day. Lt. Ibuki's voice brought him back to the present.

"Third child's synchronized at 53 percent and holding steady" she reported.

"Are you ready to begin Rei?" Misato asked over the comm. Now that Shinji thought about it, Misato was at work a lot over the past few weeks. Since both the commander and the sub-commander gone, that meant she was in de facto command.

"I'm ready" she said in her usual manner.

"Alright. Begin experiment" she commanded. Rei's entry plug descended the back of the upright form of the generic colored cyclopean Eva. Shinji tensed up as Maya went through the checklist. He wasn't sure of what would happen if the Eva actually went berserk, but he knew that he needed to be ready.

The NERV personnel present held their collective breath as the absolute borderline came closer to the mark. Last time it did, Unit 00 went berserk, trying to destroy the area it was in. It only stopped because of the power running out. If it did again, Shinji was to restrain it, try to keep the damage to a minimum.

"0.3, 0.2, 0.1, 0.0. Absolute borderline reached, Evangelion has activated" Maya called out. A light cheer came from the bridge staff and inside his plug shinji sighed in relief.

"The commanders' going to be pleased when he gets back later" Ritsuko commented.

"Good job Rei" Misato said cheerfully over the comm.

"Thank you" Rei softly replied. Ritsuko's head snapped around. She opened her mouth to speak but a loud braying alarm cut her and the good mood off like a light switch.

"Angel!" Misato snorted. The testing area was quickly abandoned as technicians ran to their stations. Massive rail lines quickly moved the two Evas to the launch area as the staff reached the already primed combat bridge. Above, the signature alarm that the Tokyo-3 populace knew all too well began blaring as civilian buildings began lowering into the Geofront. All in less than ten minutes.

"Move Unit 01 to launch tube number five. Unit 00 will remain on back-up. Whats the city's status?" she commanded.

"General alert has been issued. Population is moving into shelters, currently at fifteen percent completed" Makoto reported.

"Main buildings are retracted, waiting on secondary structures" Shiegeru called out.

"Where's the Angel located" she commanded. Multiple scenarios ran through her mind on how to fight it, now factoring in three Evas.

And it had to show up before the commander returns, she angrily thought.

Maya sorted the data on her monitor. When the results appeared she frowned.

"Blue pattern location identified... in upper orbit" she reported. Heads of everyone present turned to her station, save for Makoto.

"Confirming, confirmed. Patching in feed from satellites" he said. Clicking his keyboard, the video footage from a weather satellite appeared on the big screen. Small window screens opened in both Evas; he figured they needed to see this as well. Flickering with static for a moment, the view quickly cleared up, leaving most present breathless.

Whereas the two Angels encountered so far were similar to creatures found on Earth, this one looked not unlike a biblical incarnation of an angel. Two massive wings with four spikes branching off at similar but asymmetrical points defined its entire body, and its core was perched on the last two, making it seem like it was held on its feet. Its entire body glowed white with some kind of strange ethereal light.

Looking tiny against the backdrop of space, small data streams beside the footage labeled off figures. What they showed was troubling.

"Estimated size size is one hundred and fifty meters" Makoto reported, letting only a little fear into his voice.

"Launch both Evas" Misato commanded. Discreetly she backed up, getting out of view. Then, grabbing her cellphone, she dialed a number. She cupped her hand around the device as it rang. On the third ring it clicked.

"Katsuragi, whats going on?" Slavic asked.

"Angel. Where are you?" She whispered, sparing a quick glance towards the screen. Unit 01 was almost halfway up, and Unit 00 was close behind it.

"En route back to Japan. But I had a VTOL go pick up Rose the moment the general alert went out, and they're getting Alpha ready for launch. She'll be there in twenty. Can you tell me any details" he said.

"Its in upper orbit. Got anything that can shoot that far?" Misato said. She heard a word she didn't know, but was most likely a curse.

"No. Wait, don't you have rail cannons? Four or five if I remember right" He asked.

"Already planned on it, but i was hoping you had something else" she quietly replied.

"Crap. Okay, Rose just arrived, twenty minutes, tops" he said. The line clicked dead. Misato quietly cursed. Turning back to the screen, she clicked the comm line open to give orders, pointedly ignoring her friend's questioning stare. A nervous thought occurred to her.

"Wheres the commander's ship?" She demanded.

"About an hour out of port. I already informed the admiral, but he told me he's not stopping for anything" Makoto said. Once again she quietly cursed.

Rising quickly, two pairs of massive rails shot into the cloudless sky. With a shower of sparks and a squeal of abused metal their separate cargos hit the top. Like clockwork the many clamps released and zoomed back underground.

Shinji glanced around for a moment before spying a power junction. His internal battery read at 4:10 when he plugged the enormous cable in. An icon on the plug's wall indicated Rei was doing the same.

"Okay, listen up. We have no idea what the Angel is capable of. The only thing we have that could hit it from this distance is the positron rifle. We're sending them up" Misato said.

"Rodger" Rei replied, Shinji a syllable behind her.

"Once they're there, get into cover. I don't like it, but we're going to have to wait for it to make the first move this time" she said. Another icon appeared on the plug's wall, this one showing the location of the Angel. Immediately Rei crouched behind a building, putting it between her and the target. Shinji scanned his surroundings for a moment before finding a suitable spot of his own. He hunkered down across the street from where she was.

In five minutes an elevator close to their position opened and rail lines shot up, bearing three enormous rifle like weapons. Shinji assumed were the positron rifles. Rei didn't question why there were three, she merely grabbed one for herself, plugging in a cord on the weapon to her Eva. Shinji grabbed the other two. Setting one aside, he questioned how to get it to work before finding the small cable on the weapon. Repeating Rei's action, he did the same.

After ten minutes of tense waiting, a new icon appeared. Coming from the opposite direction of the Angel, the green stranger with wings flew in, fast and low. With a mighty flap its feet stomped down onto the street, cracking the pavement. Unlike the last battle, the wings didn't retract this time. Instead they clung close to its body, looking like a cloak. It crouched down and dashed behind Rei's cover, slamming its shoulder into the strong but not impervious wall, causing a small rainfall of rubble.

A video pane opened up on the plug's wall, showing Rose. She was grinning.

"What'd I miss?" She asked cheerfully.

"The Angel is located in space" Rei answered.

"Then why are we taking cover?" Rose asked, rolling her eyes.

"Here" Shinji said, tosssing the spare rifle to her. On the bridge everyone's mouths opened in horror. He had unknowingly and casually thrown something that cost as much as a large warship. They breathed a massive sigh of relief when Rei cached it, handing it to Rose.

"Hows this going to work" Rose mumbled, spending a moment messing with the cord before finding a suitable spot on her own machine. Shinji briefly questioned what powered it, since Unit 00 and 01 had to use massive cables. All three Evas then set their weapons on top of the two buildings, aiming towards the Angel that they couldn't see.

Ten minutes passed. Some birds flew by.

Twenty minutes passed. A cloud peeked over the horizon.

Thirty minutes passed. Cicadas buzzed.

"I'm bored" Rose lamented. Fatigue clashed with the tense atmosphere on the bridge as they tried to stay alert for any sign of attack. Shinji kept trying to suppress a yawn. Syncing with the Eva was wearing on him, taking its toll. Only Rei seemed unaffected by the waiting.

"Waiting game eh?" Misato said tensely, suppressing her own yawns. A beeping drew Makoto's attention.

"Ma'am, the commander's ship is approaching port. Should I tell them to stay away?" He asked, leaning over his shoulder.

"Yes, make it so" she answered, starting to wish for coffee, unknowingly echoing the sentiments of most of NERV's staff. He quickly relayed the message.

"They acknowledged the warning but they are still incoming" he said, some fear creeping into his tone.

"Why are they still coming?" Shinji thought out loud. Rose answered:

"Dunno. Maybe they're just tired of th-" she realized it was suddenly getting brighter. Since it was already past noon, this shouldn't have been possible.

"Power surge detected from the Angel!" Maya began, receiving the warning three seconds too late.

Rei had barely a moment of warning before the bright light blinded her and the pain began.

It was every headache, every migraine, every variant of pain that had ever happened inside and around Rei's mind at once, times five. Later that is how she would describe it, for now she only screams. And scream she does.

"What is it?! Whats it doing!?" Misato barks, staring in horror while her charge screamed in pain. Ritsuko frantically read the data.

"Its an A.T. field directly affecting her mind!" she yells.

"How do we stop it?" Misato demanded, visibly wincing at her screaming.

"Only way is to stop it source!" she yells again. Misato snapped back to the comm.

"Shinji! Rose! Fire!" she orders. Needing nothing in encouragement, both pilots pull their triggers.

Twin lances of energy, containing dust sized particles of antimatter, shot off into the clear sky. If there were any clouds, they would have formed an inverted vortex that would trail the shots for miles. Traveling at a hundredth of the speed of light they broke through the atmosphere of Earth with barely any friction, visible as far away as Taiwan. Micro compensating computers insured both would hit the sizable target at the center of its body. The shots streamed towards it...

An orange hexagon deflected both shots, one bounced off towards the moon, the other somewhere into deep space.

The light attacking Rei's mind dimmed to nothingness, and her screaming mercifully stopped. The Eva slumped down, the connection lost from her losing conscious.

"Did...did it work?" Shiegeru hesitantly asked, feeling rare optimism. On Shinji's wall Rose began grinning once again.

"Now thats how-" the light began shining down once again, this time on Unit Alpha.

Shinji cringed, expecting to hear more screaming, but there was only silence. Confused, he looked at the pane. Rose was wide eyed and her mouth was gaping. It moved, as if trying to make words but had forgotten how to. The slight glow that surrounded her irises grew brighter with the increasing light. Shinji stared in utter confusion at what was going on. It dawned on him that her eyes were glowing.

Rose closed her eyes and Alpha slumped over. Deactivated when she lost conscious.

"Oh crap" he said, the dots connecting in his mind.

Misato was about to give orders when a loud beeping came from Makoto's console.

"Captain Katsuragi" the gruff and authoritarian tone of Commander Ikari spoke.

"Sir, we're under attack by an-" Misato began.

"I know. The carrier Wings of Liberty is now entering the harbor. Strapped to the flight deck is the only weapon capable of destroying the Angel. Send an Eva now. Theres no time to waste" he commanded, cutting the link.

"Shinji!" Misato commanded. He was hiding behind his building, trying to not to panic.

"Get to the harbor, there's a weapon that can kill this thing" she said, trying to keep her own fear contained.

"But, what about-" Shinji said. An icon showing the way appeared.

"No time, go!" She yelled. Biting back a retort, Shinji dropped the rifle and ran, his power cable ejecting as well. The gun dragged along for a moment before the power cable was yanked out, wrecking part of a residential neighborhood. He barely noticed.

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Fifty kilometers away, on board the Saint of Lost Travelers, Slavic set his voice modulator down. When the military realized that the ship didn't send the transmission ordering the attack, it would be too late. And phase 4 would be completed. He almost lost it when he saw Unit Alpha under attack, and he triggered the remote shutdown.

"Run kid, run" he quietly urged as he watched the hacked video feed.

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Clocking an impressive speed, Shinji ran. He did his best to focus on running, and not the voice in his head that kept saying he left them to die. Gritting his teeth, he ran. Jumping over power lines, houses, and even some retracted skyscrapers, he ran.

Realizing he was closing in, he leaned back and tried skidding. Unit 01's heals dug into the ground, grinding up pavement and smaller homes. He saw his target: an aircraft carrier that was roughly double his size. An idle thought of how Kensuke would love this flitted across his mind. He finally stopped a small distance (for an Eva) from the water. His clock read at 2:49 remaining.

On the flight deck sailors were scurrying around, removing the protective tarp from the weapon. When Shinji saw it his jaw dropped.

"You can't be serious" he mumbled. A rusty and very large spear was tied to the deck. Lying on its side, it was longer than the Eva was tall, and it ended in two prongs. Though heavily worn, it looked red.

"Shinji! The Angel!" Misato urged, trying to believe her own eyes, not noticing Ritsuko's shocked expression.

Shinji waded into the water towards the carrier. The sailors did not have enough time to remove the wires that tied the weapon to the deck, but for an Eva that hardly mattered. He made sure they were out of the way before picking up the spear. Forty lines of one inch thick steel cable snapped as it was lifted up.

Projections of what he was supposed to do appeared in front of him, and still knee deep in water he readied to throw. Adjusting his stance to exactly what the computer demanded, he wondered how this was going to work when the massive guns they used a few minutes ago didn't do anything.

"Alright, throw!" Misato commanded.

Moving his arm back, the spear was a second away from flying out of his hand when the light suddenly became brighter. Pain rippled through his mind, increasing in line with the light. Gritting his teeth, he skipped the Eva forward.

The rusty spear flew from his fingertips. Despite being deeply in pain, Shinji was almost certain he saw the thing changing shape. Before he lost conscious, sudden and overwhelming curiosity took hold.

Who are you? Was the last thought he had before everything went dark.

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While in Tokyo-3 it was cloudless, for much of the remaining region it was not. When the massive spear flew into space, a shockwave rippled off in all directions, clearing everything in the air for a thousand miles. Twenty three planes would go down, along with uncountable numbers of birds.

Too late, the Angel realized what was employed against it. The light emanating from the center of its body clicked off, not unlike a lightbulb. It glowed brighter as it began moving, desperate to get itself away from the weapon.

It tore through the Angel's A.T. field with barely any resistance, striking it. Its last attack had thrown off the shade's aim by a negligible amount, causing the spear to hit the outer portion of the left wing as opposed to it's center. If it had hit there, then nothing but trace particles would have been left.

Instead, the wing was vaporized, and the once mighty creature plummeted down to earth, to its death.

An Die Freude. Review!


	9. Chapter 8

Dark. _Less dark. Lighter. Lighter, light_. Slowly, consciousness returned. Blue eyes creaked opened, snapping shut the moment light touched them. _Light bad. Light caused pain_. Eyes opened once again, flinching against the light streaming in, but opening up all the same. _Completely open, snap shut, eyes hurt, mind hurt-_

Shinji Ikari breathed deeply as he returned to the land of the living. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. It wasn't the ceiling of his room at the apartment.

_Unfamiliar ceiling._

A hospital- no, NERV's infirmary. They would never allow him to go to any place so normal as a regular hospital. Who else would pilot the robot? A small sound, or maybe it was a flicker of movement drew his attention to the right of the infirmary bed. Misato sat in a chair, head bowed, lightly snoring. Still in her uniform, oblivious to the world. He smiled.

_Unfamiliar ceiling._

_But familiar faces._

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"You had better explain yourself Ikari" Seele 03 growled. When Alpha had first made it appearance, they were frightened, and they reacted with false anger. Now, all present once again, they were well and truly furious. Save for Seele 05. He was contemplatively silent.

As impassive as ever, Gendo Ikari sat with his hands knitted in front of his face, casually enduring their wrath. One of their members (though he would never admit it) admired his calmness.

"There was no other weapon in our arsenal capable of destroying the Angel at that range. If I had not ordered the usage of the Lance, then all of Tokyo-3's defenses would have been destroyed. And the scenario would have been ruined" he calmly explained.

"You put the scenario in jeopardy!" Seele 09 yelled.

"The entire project is on the verge of collapse!" Seele 10 shouted.

"There was no other option" he defended.

"Enough" chairman Kihl ordered. The accusing members of Seele fell silent. Kihl took a small breath from his mechanically assisted lungs.

"Reviewing the logs of the battle, I have determined that there was no other option at the time than to use the Lance. However, it is only because of your actions that its usage was necessary" he said. Gendo didnt react past breathing.

"As chairman, I recommend that Gendo Ikari be dismissed from his position as commander of NERV" Kihl spoke.

"I second that motion" 03 immediately piped up. Seven more affirmatives followed.

"Then its decided. Gendo Ikari, you are hereby stripped of your command. In three weeks time, your replacement will arrive with the three Evangelions deployed to Japan. Until then, sub-commander Fuyutski will take over your responsibilities. Do you have anything to say to defend yourself?" Kihl threatened.

"The stranger Evangelion is called Unit Alpha. I have made a covert alliance with its parent organization" Gendo said, almost like an afterthought. Muted gasps came from the assembled members.

"And you wait until now to tell us?" 04 growled.

"There was no purpose in doing so, and secrecy is their normal method of operation. Their short term goals are the same as ours, the destruction of the Angels. They have shown willingness to cooperate with me, but they will likely not show the same to your replacement" Gendo spoke.

"And what is this organization?" 08 leered.

"It is called Avalon. Do not try to search for them, their secrecy is far superior to your own" he said. The sound only markers on the monoliths disappeared. Deciding among themselves if his story was to be believed. After a full five minutes the markers came back.

"Ikari, it is the decision of this council that you will remain at NERV as sub-commander" Kihl spoke. Once again there was no reaction from Gendo. "This alliance you have formed is quite useful, and your orders are to maintain it. When the time comes however, you will eliminate them. Now, how many Evas do they possess" kihl demanded.

"One. You have examined the footage of it at length" Gendo replied.

"Very well. We expect regular updates. Dismissed" Kihl waved his hand and the monoliths faded.

The lights flickered on, just in time to Gendo's head falling to the table. Fuyutski walked in, holding a small boxy device in one hand and a radio in the other.

"That went better than I expected" Fuyutski commented, hearing his former student snoring.

"How long do you think he's been out?" Slavic asked over the radio.

"A few minutes at most" Fuyutski answered as he lifted the man up and took the small speaker from around his neck.

"So now what?" Slavic asked tensely. He didn't blame him, the way he talked about the green Eva's pilot she might as well be his daughter. She was currently resting in the infirmary, though it wouldn't be long before he arrived.

"The committees sending a replacement. But you planned for that. Right?" He asked. A muted roar came from the radio, likely a car of some sort.

"Its manageable" he answered. Fuyutski spared a pitying glance at his once formidable protégé, now reduced to a barely functional simpleton.

"His...condition. Its not permanent, is it?" He asked. He heard a snort from the other end.

"Of course not. I have the means to cure him. However, I'm going to wait until the committee is dead first. Until then, can I trust you to follow my orders?" Slavic asked. Fuyutski let out a tired sigh. After a contemplative pause he spoke.

"Yes. You have my full support" he said, feeling every one of his many years.

"This is for the best professor" Slavic reassured, using his old title.

Excellent intelligence network, he thought. The machine clicked off. Fuyutski sighed again as he began moving the supreme commander of the officially most powerful private organization on Earth back to his bedroom. The entire situation was bad and incredibly risky, but if the man in black that confronted him at his home six weeks ago had his way, then the world just might be better off.

"I'm too old for this crap" he muttered.

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"I've got good news and bad news. Good news is the Angels dead. Whats left of it crashed close to Kofu. They're picking up whats left and carting it back here. Bad news is you, Rei, and Rose have been in a coma for two days now" Misato began. She woke up a few minutes ago and had begun explaining matters, after running to the bathroom.

"Two days?" Shinji asked, disbelief present. Misato shrugged.

"Yeah. It took us nearly two hours to get to you. Had to move the Evas back to the elevators first. Alpha was the hardest, it took them hours to jury rig the rails to get the thing down. Its in cage 3 at the moment" she said. Shinji nodded an affirmative.

"And us?" He asked, more out of curiosity.

"According to the docs, physically you're fine. Not even a scratch. Mentally on the other hand..." She trailed off.

"What about Rei and Rose?" He asked, showing deep concern.

Just woke up from a coma and he asks about the girls, Misato thought with a internal chuckle.

"Rei woke up about three hours ago. She looked tired but mostly okay. She went home about an hour ago" Misato explained. Shinji nodded.

"And Rose?" He asked. Misato looked away.

"Whats wrong?" He asked, showing concern and the beginnings of alarm.

"Rose is still asleep. Real sleep, not a coma. Ritsuko says she'll wake up anytime" she said, sounding chipper but still refusing to meet his eyes. Realizing he was still staring at her, she sighed.

"She did a quick test to check her blood type. No results. So she ran more tests, to see if anything matched. Nothing did" she said.

"What does that mean?" Shinji asked, trying to remember everything he knew about genetics, which was admittingly small. Misato sighed once again, struggling to word the bombshell.

"Theres no easy way to say this so I'll just say it. Rose isn't human" she said apprehensively.

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"Do you believe him?" 07 asked 09.

"Of course not. Its an explanation that fits the facts, no more" 09 said derisively.

"What other explanation is there?" 03 rhetorically asked.

"He's lying through his teeth. It wouldn't be the first time" 12 said.

"The facts are clear. Its the truth" 06 defended.

"Gentlemen, as amusing as your arguments are, there is another and far more serious issue at hand" 05 spoke at last. He had been silent for Ikari's dismissal and for most of the argument that followed.

"And what would that be?" Kihl asked. The chattering continued.

"The prophecy was wrong" he said. Those four words brought all other conversation to a grinding halt.

"What?!" Kihl demanded, feeling a cold grip of fear around his aged heart.

"I have reviewed the scrolls, specifically the portion describing the messengers. The description of the fifth does not match the Angel that attacked two days ago" he calmly explained.

"Then... was it wrong?" 08 hesitantly asked. Seele 05, a man named Noel Relker from South Africa, just told them the foundation of their beliefs was mistaken. Needless to say this was a problem.

"The Angel matched the description of the fifteenth, the Angel of Birds. Either the scrolls were mistaken on the ordering, or the messenger broke the order. In any case, this is a serious concern" 05 spoke without much emotion. He was the most scholarly member of Seele, the one who convinced half of the current members to join the council. If he said there was a problem, then there was a crisis.

Silence reigned for minutes on end before one spoke up.

"Everything else has gone according to the scrolls" 02 assured. It was unclear if he was speaking to the council or himself. Perhaps both.

"Yes. Yes, this is just an acceptable deviance from the scenario. We planned for things like this" Kihl said, internally repeating the last sentence. The other ten mumbled something similar. In minutes they had rationalized away what was potentially the most serious event in their history.

Noel let out a sound that could have been a sigh.

"Acceptable" he said.

_Fools_, he thought.

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The words hung in the air for a full minute before Shinji spoke again.

"I don't understand" Misato sighed.

"This is going to be harder than i thought" she mumbled. She looked up and met his gaze.

"According to Ritsuko, ninety seven percent of her DNA matches the normal human" she said.

"Ninety seven one percent to be specific" the master of either excellent timing or devious planning spoke from the door way. Both patient and guardian quickly turned to look in her direction.

"However, since our closest living relatives, chimpanzees, have ninety six percent similarity, this raises an uncomfortable number of questions. Chief among them is just what is she" Ritsuko said, a cigarette in one hand (despite the no smoking sign by the door), a computer tablet in the other, and her ever present lab coat draped over her shoulders.

"Wait, how long have you been standing there?" Misato asked, bordering on embarrassment.

"Since the non human part. Shinji, physically you're fine, but I'd like you to stay a few more hours to make sure. Is that okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. Yeah its fine" Shinji said, letting out a tired sigh. Misato laid a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

"See you in a while" she said, smiling. Leaving the patient to his rest, Misato followed Ritsuko's beckoning out of the antiseptic room and into the more antiseptic hallway.

"Something wrong?" Misato asked, much more serious.

"Your new friend arrived nearly a day ago, hasn't left her room since" Ritsuko said. Misato's throat clenched.

"How did he get in NERV?" she asked, more of a conspirator whisper.

"He walked in the visitor's center and asked for Rose. Thats it" she said. Misato cocked an eyebrow at such a breach of security. Rituko shrugged.

"Not my fault. I've been too busy keeping these kids alive" she defended. Thry both sighed.

"Where is he?" She asked with some exasperation. Ritsuko pointed down the hallway.

"Her room" she said.

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It was strange. A man that could bring a shiver of fear to the bravest with his presence alone had his head slumped and was peacefully dozing. It was such a contrast to his normal perpetual seriousness. He was positioned much like Misato was, a commandeered chair placed close to the bed where the mystery slept, blissfully unaware of what was to come.

A light tap awakened him, and his head swung wildly around in surprise before he recognized who disturbed his rest.

"Katsuragi. Akagi. My apologies for not seeing either of you earlier" Slavic said politely but quietly, since Rose was sleeping a few feet away. He recognized the kind of glare Misato was giving him, and he noted the detached yet intense curiosity present in Ritsuko's eyes. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Let me guess, you took a sample of blood from Rose and you analyzed it" he said.

"According to the MAGI, three percent of her DNA is different from humans. She's less related to us than Neanderthals" Ritsuko said. Slavic took another deep breath and begun speaking.

"Rosita Hierro Anáhuac is whats known in some circles as a Diclonius" he begun. Both women raised an eyebrow.

"A what?" Misato asked, confused.

"A Diclonius is a sub species of human. I commissioned a research study a while ago. From what they told me, the fossil record indicates they've existed for roughly a hundred and fifty thousand years, though modern Diclonii have only been around since the seventieth century or so" he said.

"So...they, Rose I mean, is one of human's ancestors?" Misato hesitantly asked. Both Ritsuko and Slavic shook their heads.

"No. To be accurate, we would be ancestors to them" Ritsuko pointed out. Slavic nodded.

"Exactly. Now, physically they're nearly identical to humans, can pass for one fairly easily in fact, but there's several characteristics that set them apart. First off, they usuallly have paler skin than normal. You should've seen how dark her parents were" he paused to see if they understood.

"Second, usually, but not always, they have reddish hair and irises" he pointed to the sleeping girl's hair.

"Lastly, and this isnt a maybe, two horn like protusions on the skull" he finished, pointing towards the twin objects that poked through her scalp.

Misato's eyes widened.

"You mean those grow out of her skull? I always thought they were nerve clips or something, a fashion statement" she said.

"No. The last thing is something that would take me hours to explain in detail. Suffice to say, she is still the same girl as before, just now you know what she is" he finished. Ritsuko nodded.

"When are you going to ask about your Eva?" She asked.

"I was getting there" he said, slightly impatient.

"Cage 3" Misato said. He nodded once again.

"That'll work for now. Do you two mind if I stay here until she wakes up?" He hesitantly asked.

"Its okay" Misato said with a shrug. As the two women left Slavic returned to his vigil over the sleeping girl.

"Your secrets safe for now. Beast"

**A/N: any questions regarding Arael? Leave it at this: I have a reason for everything, its just not immediately obvious.**

**I'LL BE BACK.**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: ahem, um, okay. I'M BACK! !**

NERV technicians and researchers had a field day with the fifth Angel. While significant amounts of both previous Angels had been recovered, including a mostly intact and priceless Core, they were far more excited at the chance to examine a creature that appeared so different from anything else that was found on their wounded planet.

Many looked forward to recovering more Core material, since the 'higher ups' had decided to cart the fourth Angel's off to another base, preventing anything more than a cursory analysis. But upon closer inspection, they found that not a particle remained of this one. The crystal debris was consistent with the pattern that would accompany an explosion, particularly from where the orb was.

Dismissing the missed opportunity, they focused on the crystal. With detailed anaylsis, a startling discovery was made: despite being composed of material that was akin to solid light, the materials and pattern held a ninety eight percent similarity to the human genome.

The enormous creature that could be mistaken for God was more closely related to humans than chimpanzees, more than the horned pilot that stayed in the infirmary for three days. The information was kept top secret. Only a handful of the upper leadership and the ones that made the discovery knew. Fuyutski, Slavic, and Misato of the former, Dr. Akagi and Maya Ibuki of the latter.

NERV had enough problems at the moment without revealing a bombshell like that.

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Moving calmly and quickly over the expanse of the rebuilt coastline of Japan, the transport helicopter flew eastward to its destination at sea. It departed from an airfield on the outskirts of Tokyo-3 forty five minutes earlier on what could have been construed as a frivolous task, had the necessary paperwork not been stamped with commander Ikari's signature. Rather than carrying cargo, it held four passengers.

"You guys doing alright?" Misato asked over her shoulder, taking a break from watching their progress over the pilot's shoulder. Her roommate, charge, designated cook, and currently fellow passenger nodded vigorously, as did his two companions.

"Thanks for bringing us along" he said, a light smile on his face. One of the benefits of being a captain in NERV was having a soundproofed aircraft for personal use, making simple conversation possible without the bulky communications gear.

"I knew you would like it" she said, smirking.

"Shinji, I can't thank you enough for bringing me with you" Kensuke said gratefully. His camera had been on almost continuously since they left the airfield, and he had no intention of shutting it off anytime soon. Technically what he was seeing was classified, but Misato could afford to shrug it off.

"How are you holding up?" Shinji asked the fourth passenger, who squirmed uncomfortably in the thinly padded seat.

"Could be better I suppose. Regardless, thanks for bringing me along" Hikari said.

"Too bad Touji couldn't come" Kensuke commented morosely.

"Do you know what happened? I've heard some rumors but nothing solid" she asked.

"I called him to ask. Something to do with his sister. He didnt say much over the phone" he said, shrugging.

"Too bad. He would have loved to see this" Hikari commented. Shinji glanced out the window, remembering.

_**Flashback**_

Following Rose into her apartment, Shinji once again rehearsed his lines. The apartment was much like Misato's; three bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, and a full sized bathroom, arranged the same way as next door. Several large cardboard boxes were stacked by one bedroom, while a colorful poster of so e beach covered the second. Sticking out of the last door was the hilt and part of the blade of a large knife. Shnji unconsciously gulped at the sight. It didn't take much imagination to know who's that was.

Originally he planning was going to talk to Slavic alone, but he realized that the man was difficult to find. But if anyone could get ahold of him, it would be the horned pilot. During lunch he asked her for a favor, which she immediately agreed to. Casually she grabbed her cellphone (he didn't recognize the type) called, talked cheerfully in Spanish (which Shinji understood not a single word) to him, and had arranged a time. As luck would have it, he was at her apartment after school.

Rose tossed her book bag by the couch and vaulted over the back, the remote control leaping into her hand as she landed. The large television flicked on, showing a local soap opera.

When Rose revealed what she was to Shinji, he didn't react like she expected. Instead of fear, he had only curiosity. He had of course asked to feel her horns to prove they were real. The demonstration of her invisible arms, vectors she called them, was unnerving the first time but he had since gotten used to them. Watching dishes seemingly rinse and dry themselves was both mesmerizing and slightly disturbing at the same time.

"Homework?" The clear but unplaceable accent of her guardian called out. Shinji looked around in surprise before locating him, sitting at their table typing on a laptop. Like Rose's phone, he didn't recognize the type, though technology wasn't one of interests.

"Nope" she replied, idly flipping the channel.

"Are you lying?" He asked, voice much graver.

The hand that wasn't holding the remote came up over the back of the couch and pointed at Shinji before flopping back down. He turned to look at him and saw his grey eyes were boring into his own.

"No homework today" Shinji said, unsure how he managed to keep the stutter out of his tone.

Apparently satisfied, he turned back to his laptop, typing something. Shinji shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unsure on how to approach the matter. He glanced over at Rose, but she was hidden by the large couch, for now focused on an action film. Offering no help at all. Sighing, he decided to be blunt.

"Slavic, can I ask you something?" Shinji asked. Although he was focused on the screen, Slavic readily responded.

"You may, though I may not answer" he said. Shinji sighed again. He noticed he was doing that a lot lately.

"Theres someone in the hospital..." He began.

"Related?" Slavic asked.

"No. Not to me. She's the sister of one of my friends" he said.

"And by healing her injuries you hope to gain his trust?" Slavic said. Shinji looked at him indignantly.

"No! No, just..." Shinji looked away. He felt Slavic's eyes on him all the same.

"She was injured in the first battle. I feel responsible" he said, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Even though Rose was the one who killed the Angel?" Slavic said.

"Yeah. But if I had gone out earlier..." Shinji replied, eyes wandering towards the television. A nature show of some kind was playing.

"And what reason do I have to cure this girl, if I can at all" Slavic said. A sharp stab of doubt wormed its way into Shinji's mind. How did he know Slavic was capable of this?

"He's messing with you" Rose called out from her spot on the couch. Shinji glanced in her direction and turned back to him quizzically. Slavic had turned the laptop around, showing a large number of pictures showing people. After second of looking Shinji recognized them as his schoolmates. Slavic pointed his finger at the screen.

"Which one is Suzahara?" He asked.

_**End Flashback**_

"Too bad" Kensuke said dejectedly. Misato nodded in agreement and returned to her vigil over the pilot's shoulder. Her eyes lit up as she leaned forward.

"There it is!" she proclaimed. Hurriedly the three teenagers crowded the small window in the side of the helicopter.

The UN Pacific fleet was a marvel by any standard. Thirty vessels of many types from twenty countries sailed under one command, enforcing law and peace for the entire length of the largest ocean on Earth. Frigates, destroyers, cruisers, and at the center of the fleet, a super-carrier that was at least quadruple the size of their school.

"Wow!" they exclaimed in unison. Misato smirked.

"How big is that ship?" Shinji asked in wonder.

"Thats the Over The Rainbow" Kensuke pointed out, zooming his camera on the massive ship. The question went unanswered.

"Why name a ship that?" Hikari asked.

"Well, it was the USS Ronald Reagan, but the US gave it to the UN navy ten years ago. Nobody could decide a new name, so the dockworkers named it that as a joke. The name stuck" Kensuke answered.

_Should've realized he'd be an encyclopedia_, Shinji thought.

"That old rust bucket. They should've scrapped that hulk years ago" Misato snorted. The three glanced at her questionably, Kensuke bordering on shock.

"When you've worked with Evas and seen some of the stuff NERV has at it's disposal, an oversized carrier isnt very impressive" she defended. She glanced at the pilot and he held up two fingers.

"Alright, we're about to land" she announced, taking her own seat and buckling in.

"Cant wait to meet the new pilots" Shinji commented as he did the same.

The helicopter had barely landed before Kensuke tried to leap out. Only Hikari's strong grip kept him in place long enough to prevent a beheading. Once the blades slowed down she let go.

"Coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool!" he yelled, trying to capture every possible thing on camera.

"He's in heaven" Hikari commented. Both Misato and Shinji nodded in agreement. Kensuke had enough sense to stay away from anything that looked especially dangerous or off limits. The crew took the teen's enthusiasm in stride, many chuckling or outright laughing as he came by. Some posed for his camera, holding up tools.

"So, where are the pilots?" Hikari asked, glancing around. A strong breeze made her thankful she decided to wear pants for the trip.

Shinji was the first to notice the shadow looming up from behind them. Turning around, he was confused. For a number of reasons.

"Hello there" the oddly accented voice said, drawing both women's attention. Kensuke noticed the exchange and ceased his dog in a park routine. His camera zoomed as he came closer.

"Hi. You must be one of the pilots" Misato greeted. The girl nodded with a smirk.

"Asuka Langley Soryu, the second child" she proclaimed.

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Asuka was in a word beautiful. Long red hair fell down to her waist, divided into three strands by the red A10 nerve clips on her scalp. Apparently they were part of her general look. She wore a yellow sundress and a pair of sandals, making Shinji wonder why she choose that when the wind was this strong. Her face was beautiful, and the wind showed her figure to be stunning.

She led them inside the ship to the mess deck (Misato called it that) since the flight deck was a poor place for conversation. The small glimpse Shinji got of her underwear (which lasted less than a second) may have had something to do with it too. Once inside the spacious room, Shinji made the remarkable discovery of the quality of the ship's food.

"This is good" Hikari commented while spooning up the dished spaghetti. She caught a glance of what must have been the cook grinning and flashing a thumbs up at her approval, which she replied in turn. Shinji and Kensuke grabbed the same, but Asuka declined on the food. Instead she filled them in on every facet of her superior life.

"So, where'd you train at?" Misato asked conversationally, sipping a soft drink. Since alcohol wasn't permitted on official ships (much to her chagrin), she had to settle for soda pop. The three teens that accompanied her sat on the same side of the table while Asuka was on the other.

"Second branch in Berlin" she answered with all the confidence in the world.

"Germany? That makes sense" she said, draining what remained of the generic soda. She vigorously nodded.

"But why do you have a Japanese name?" Hikari asked, leaning forward.

"My my, you certainly haven't wasted any time" said a calm and slightly joking tone from behind them.

Misato's reaction was near instantaneous. Her face scrunched up from a friendly smile to barely restrained fury in the space of seconds. Her head creaked around, aiming the newly placed death glare in the direction of the speaker. Her companions looked over questioningly, Shinji more so.

"Two minutes and you already blew four people away" the man standing in the doorway joked. The man looked like a bum; stubble decorated his chin and a ponytail was hanging over his shoulder. He was wearing a button up shirt that wasn't tucked in and stained khaki pants. His demeanor seemed like he never took anything seriously.

"You" Misato growled. Instinctively Shinji and his friends put some distance from her. Asuka's face lit up from her smug smile to open mouthed joy.

"Kaji!" she squealed, prevented from getting to him by the four people in the way.

"Misato! Great to see you" he greeted cheerfully, now recognizing who the woman was. The empty can that was still in Misato's hand crunched and the three inched away.

"I'm hurt" he said with mock pain, holding his hand over his chest in a wounded heart gesture.

"Kaji, what are you doing here" she growled again. He chuckled.

"Why, I'm merely escorting the pilots to Japan. The real question is what are you doing here?" he asked jokingly as he leaned forward accusingly.

Shinji discreetly got up from the bench and left the room, avoiding the route they came in. Neither Hikari or Kensuke noticed; they were too focused on the flying sparks between the adults.

A strong breeze blew as Shinji walked onto the small deck near the bridge. He looked at the small sign beside the door, utterly confused.

"Why is it always in English" he mumbled. His attention turned out to sea.

While he watched a helicopter took off from the deck in the direction of a nearby ship. Shinji noticed that that one was a different type from the rest of the fleet. It wasnt military, it looked like a repurposed cargo vessel. A large one at that. A large tarp covered most of the vessel's length.

"Is that where the Evas are?" he thought out loud.

The fleet was truly remarkable. So many ships, tasked with protecting the peace for the entire ocean. They never rested, they were always on guard. Even now, a plume of water in the distance rose from tested ordinance. Kensuke would likely point out the type of ship, or the yie-

"Wait" Shinji said. He leaned over the railing and squinted his eyes, not believing what he saw.

Where the plume came from the front of a ship rose into the sky. As he watched the bow grew smaller as it sunk. Helicopters took off from nearby ships and circled the doomed vessel. There was only one thing that Shinji knew of that could destroy a battleship that quickly.

"Angel" he said under his breath as another plume rose from where a nearby ship was. Alarms began bellowing seconds later. He felt strong fingers grab the back of his collar and yank him away from the rails.

"Couldn't have happened in a worst place" Misato grumbled as she dragged him through the now opened door. He glimpsed Hikari and Kensuke closely trailing them.

"We're on the bridge of a real carrier" Kensuke quietly squealed as he entered.

Shinji expected the control center of a ship like this to be huge, not unlike NERV's. It wasn't. In fact it was about the same size as 2A's classroom. However, it was just as busy. Standing over by the main window and glaring out of it was a sixtish man in a white uniform that he assumed was the admiral. Misato walked over to him with an borderline swagger. She whipped out a small ID badge and shoved it into his face.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing on my bridge!" The man shouted, shoving her arm aside. Misato's confident smirk never left.

"NERV captain Katsuragi. As of this moment I'm taking command of this fleet" she said. The admiral's eyes widened.

"Like hell you are" he growled dangerously as his eyes narrowed. Her smirk grew wider.

"Either suffer under me or swim to Japan" she stated. Outside the window another plume rose from a destroyed ship as if the Angel was out to prove her point. The admiral lowered his head and spoke quietly, Misato barely caught what he was saying.

"What do we do" Misato unceremoniously shoved him aside as grabbed the radio.

"Asuka, you ready?" She said onto the mike. She depressed the button and listened. The response came quickly.

"Locked cocked and ready to rock" the confident voice of the second child responded.

"Alright. As quick as you can get over here" behind her Shinji saw the admiral's face turn to shock" and link up. Is the power cable ready?" Misato asked over her shoulder. The admiral's aide responded.

"Yes, we got it up to specs this morning" he answered nervously as he clutched his clipboard to his chest.

"Good. You got that?" Misato said into the mike.

"Affirmative" she answered. Misato's smirk became a full smile.

"Eva Unit 02, launch!" she proclaimed.

The ship closest to the Over the Rainbow suddenly began rocking violently. Shinji remembered that was where the helicopter he saw taking off from the deck flew to. Suddenly the large tarp flew upwards, covering the massive creation now standing on the deck.

The thing leaped off the deck, nearly capsizing the poor ship. Still in midair a massive red arm ripped the tarp off, revealing the Eva in all its glory.

"This is the greatest day of my life" Kensuke whispered tearfully, training the camera on the flying titan. Everyone else on the bridge could only stare in awe. Save for Misato, who was grinning from ear to ear.

Unit 02 looked similar to Unit 01, the strange demon like face, shoulder pylons, and the smooth organic armor. It differed by having four green eyes and more streamlined armor portions. Most obviously, it was a screaming red with white highlights. Or maybe the screaming was from the radio.

"Yeeeaaahhhhhhh!" Asuka yelled over the mike.

The Eva's feet landed on the deck of a destroyer, wrecking millions of dollars of equipment underfoot. Without missing a beat it crouched down and leaped again, repeating the destroyer's treatment to another poor vessel.

And again. And again. Unit 02 leapfrogged its way to the Over the Rainbow on the decks of the fleet. Out of the corner of his eye Shinji saw the dawning horror on the admiral's face as he realized what was about to happen. Asuka yelled agin as Unit 02's feet impacted on the flight deck.

Everyone on the deck grabbed something a moment prior to its arrival. Some of the people didn't have a strong enough grip, and were thrown violently when it landed, rocking the enormous ship to the point where the edge of the flight deck came dangerously close to touching the ocean surface. The many personnel on the deck managed to get below for safety. The many kinds of aircraft were not so lucky.

"Such a waste" both the admiral and Kensuke tearfully whimpered as they came to their feet.

Unit 02 swayed for a moment before finding it's balance. It quickly reached down and grabbed the waiting power cable and attached it onto its back. With that done, it took a ready position. One of the pylons split open and released a large object. The Eva grabbed the it and then held it out. An unseen signal activated it, revealing the glowing blade of a progressive knife. Holding the blade down, Unit 02 held the knife in a defensive pose born of years of practice.

"Where is it" Asuka said. Even through the radio Shinji could tell she was smirking.

One of the bridge personnel realized what she wanted and hurriedly examined his console.

"Starboard side, ten o'clock!" He called out. Shinji and company rushed to the right side, led by Kensuke, to see. The ship rocked again as Unit 02 adjusted it's position.

"There it is!" Shinji yelled, pointing his finger.

Moving quicker than anything should be capable of, a massive wave quickly approached the carrier. A massive spray of white foam revealed a fin. Doing a rough estimate, Shinji guessed the fin was easily fifteen meters tall, nearly a quarter of the size of the Eva.

Asuka began mumbling something in german. Shinji didn't understand a word, but he could easily guess what she was saying.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon" he mumbled in turn.

Once it was about four times the carrier's length away (wrecking another ship in the process) it dove below. A tense atmosphere came over everyone present. No one dared breathe. The ensign that called out the location before widened his eyes.

"Port side! Nine oh-" he never finished his sentence. As it turned out, Shinji's original estimate of the Angel's size was off.

Erupting from the waves came a pair of opened jaws, followed by the yellowish bulk of the Angel of the Sea. It was easily the size of the Over the Rainbow, both in width and length. Unit 02 barely managed to turn around in time before the jaws clamped down on the Eva, dragging it into the water. A mighty wave swayed the ship, smacking the opposite side against the Angel's tail before it whipped into the air and slinked back under the water.

The massive rolled length of cable began spinning as the line dragged across the deck, wrecking the few craft that survived Unit 02's landing. Misato stared wide eyed, all traces of the smirk gone, replaced by shock. The look was echoed by everyone on the bridge. Internally the admiral wanted to rub the loss into the upstart captain's face, but he realized that there wasn't anything else capable of killing that thing. With her gone, they were screwed.

The tenseness returned tenfold and they watched the two thousand meter power cable spin out, showing the Angel was dragging the Eva further and further away.

"Oh crap" Shinji wasn't sure who said that, perhaps it was him.

The line hit the end, snapping the line taunt. An annoying sound followed. While the teenagers were ignorant of the specifics, they knew what it meant just as well as the adults. The screech of reinforced metal being stressed beyond the point of safety. The sound of the very limit about to be reached, and destruction to immediately follow. To Shinji, it was the sound of death. An errant thought flitted through his mind:

_Where's the other pilot? _

With no warning, the screeching suddenly ceased. Many present, not just the teens, held their breaths in anticiptaion. Of what, they did not know.

"Um, hello? Anyone up there?" The radio crackled.

Misato almost yanked the mike off from the radio as she grabbed it. Excitedly she pushed the button.

"Asuka! Are you alright!?" she asked worriedly. A throaty chuckle came from the other end.

"Better than alright. Tell the third child we're even now" she chuckled.

"How'd you kill it?" Misato asked, sparing a glance at the now relieved admiral and teens.

"What do you know, the things core was in the back of it's throat. It was child's play to stab it" she answered haughtily. Misato chuckled nervously, understanding better than she did how close to death she was. How they all were.

"Now, you mind reeling me in? I got a fish to fillet"

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On the other side of the fleet, one of the five people certified to pilot Evangelions observed the entire battle with detached curiosity. While the crew around him panicked at the thought of a lovecraftian monster killing them and destroying their priceless cargo, he stood on the deck and watched if the air of someone observing from afar.

When he saw the massive bulk of the Sixth Angel being brought up alongside of the super carrier, he pursed his lips with either distaste or disappointment. With him it was hard to tell.

"You were reckless Second child" he chastised to the wind as he watched Unit 02 being removed from the Angel's innards. The breeze was strong but it didn't affect him.

"If Gaghiel wasn't so prone to overconfidence you wouldn't be alive. And I would he forced to intervene much earlier than intended" he continued. His mouth formed into a thin smile.

"Still, I applaud your bravery. Charging headfirst into the lion's den takes either tremendous courage or colossal stupidity. To survive takes either skill or luck. Only time will tell which was at work here" he said. His thin smile revealed white teeth. Below him the cloned god slept, ignorant of what was to come.

_Things are about to get interesting_, Kaworu thought.

**A/N: In case anyone was curious (I doubt it) the personal situation of mine was the return of a parent from Afghanistan, Alive thank god. To all who serve, Thank you and God bless.**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm aiming for a new chapter every week, but life may or may not get in the way of that. I'll do my best.**

"Wait, so YOU'RE the third child?" Asuka asked disbelievingly. Shinji let out the small breath he'd been holding. He had a feeling she would react like this.

"Yeah, I am" he admitted. He looked away, relieved that they were almost to port.

Even before being removed from the jaws of death, literally, Asuka had begun bragging about how she and the Third were even with kills. She bragged until Misato pointed out he had two. The red head's attitude changed like a light switch: she became angry and incensed that anyone, let alone the mysterious Third child, dare try to be better than her.

"Well, if you want to meet him he's over there" Misato said, pointing at Shinji. Asuka delayed the confrontation long enough to take a shower to get rid of the LCL. While his friends watched the German began interrogating him on the flight deck, in the shadow of the lightly damaged Unit 02. Her first question was of course, his status.

Asuka snorted.

"And where were you when the Angel attacked? Huddling under Misato's skirt?" she accused. Asuka was back in her yellow sundress and had her hands on her hips. Shinji's cheeks reddened and he heard Kensuke snicker.

"My Eva is back in Tokyo-3. Just what do you expect? Fighting it hand to hand?" He shot back. Asuka harrumphed.

Taking a neutral position behind the spectators, Misato sighed. From what she knew of the second child confrontation involving her was inevitable. She didn't know that it would be this fast.

_It'll be even worse when she finds out her living arrangements_, she thought wearily.

"And I haven't even met the other two pilots" she murmured, sparing a glance around as the two pilots bickered. Her wandering gaze ceased when she saw who was leaving the control tower and approaching the group, accompanied by two people. In order to spare the children from the oncoming slaughter she walked towards them to meet halfway.

"Misato! Knew you couldn't resist me" Kaji joked, causing Misato to grit her teeth. She noticed what he was wearing was different from earlier.

"Whats the matter, all the flight jockeys were guys"? she mocked. He only chuckled.

"Well, partially that" Misato mumbled something "but actually my orders were to escort NERV's commander to safety in case Asuka couldn't stop the Angel" he said.

Misato forgot her next statement\insult and raised her eyebrow.

"The commander is here?" She asked, perplexed.

"The new commander to be precise" said the man to Kaji's left.

Misato was so fixated on Kaji that she ignored the two others. Questioningly she examined him. He was Caucasian and of average height, with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes. He wore a grey business suit and carried a small briefcase.

"Clayton Reeve. Pleasure to meet you" he said, politely curtseying too low to count as a bow. His Japanese was odd but fluent. Unlike her strange ally his accent gave him away as American.

"You're the new commander of the first branch? Strange I wasn't informed" Misato commented.

"Yes, well, commander Ikari was recently removed from his position because of health reasons. I took his place by order of the security council. The official notice is in four days" he said with borderline smugness.

"Like I said" Kaji said with a shrug.

"Okay then, I'm operations director captain Katsuragi. Pleased to make your acquaintance" she said, performing a proper bow. Regret came as she rose for giving her new boss a view of her cleavage, however small.

"The pleasure's mine captain. I'm sure we'll work together quite nicely" he said with a touch too much sincerity.

_If he starts hitting on me I'm going to break his jaw_, Misato promised herself.

"Now, If you'll excuse me, I have to organize my belongings" he said. He clicked his heels as he turned and walked back towards the control tower.

Misato spared a glance back at the children. Shinji and Asuka were still arguing, but it looked like they weren't coming to blows anytime soon. Hopefully. Kensuke had managed to drag Hikari with him to faun over the prone Eva while sailors did their best to protect it from the harsh elements.

"Dont look so down. I haven't even showed you the best part yet" Kaji said, drawing her attention back to the here and now. He nudged the third person forward with his elbow. Misato had been so focused on her former lover and the bureaucrat turned boss that she failed to notice him beyond a cursory look.

The man no, boy, stepped forward from his place behind Kaji. His skin was pale, not pinkish white like the fool before him. His hair was an ashen grey, and his sleepy looking eyes were a deep red. Though she would be hard pressed to admit it, Misato thought he looked quite handsome. He wore an outfit similar to what Shinji preferred, except the undershirt was orange instead of black. He had a small but friendly smile on his face.

"Good afternoon captain Katsuragi" he greeted in near perfect japanese and performing a formal bow that was just as good as hers.

"Good afternoon.." she trailed off, not knowing his name. He smile grew from smug to friendly.

"Kaworu Nagisa, the Fourth child" he said, tone matching his smile.

Misato opened her mouth to reply but her words were drowned out by the loud horn that came from the tower.

"Well thats our cue. You might want to get back inside" Kaji said, bordering on serious. With that said he followed Reeve's example, plus an entirely different kind of smugness. Kaworu stayed, his hands in his pockets.

"Alright then. Um, where's your baggage?" Misato asked.

"Flew in this morning. I believe it was sent to your address" Kaworu said casually. His smile never lessened.

"Right. Excuse me I need to make a call" Misato said quickly. She turned and walked back to her wards, covertly grabbing her cell phone and dialing. When it clicked she cupped her hand around the mouth piece.

"Okay, I need info, stat" she commanded.

"Whatever it is, it can wait. Right now I'm in the parking lot. Get here fast, I got a surprise for you" Slavic said quickly. The line clicked dead and Misato quietly cursed.

The original area that now comprised Tokyo-3 was nowhere near any major body of water. With Second Impact however, that particular problem was solved, aided by a joint JSDF/Chinese engineering corps effort that made a sizable harbor out of what was once dry land. For a city of only hundreds of thousands, the port was surprisingly large, easily able to accommodate the entirety of the full Pacific fleet, albeit reduced by a quarter. Like the rest of Tokyo-3, in a moments notice it could change from commercial shipping to military installation.

Becoming a battleground was always a possibility in this city, and the architecture reflected that.

A sailor (who only understood french) escorted the group of six through the Over the Rainbow and out to solid ground. Once off the ship, the combined roar of a flotilla of helicopters quickly erased all conversation, at least for a minute. Once the group was near the adjacent parking lot speaking and not shouting resumed.

"What are they doing?" Shinji asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Moving the Evas" Kaworu promptly answered. Eighty percent of the group turned their heads in surprise when he spoke. On the carrier, twelve large helicopters struggled to lift the massive red Eva off the flight deck. The fleet split into threes, going in three directions. Presumably for the other two Evas.

"How did you get here?" Hikari said in confusion, backing up a step as well.

"On the Valiant. Its the ship over there" he answered, pointing to where one of the chopper groups was hovering over.

"Right, forgot. People, this is Kaworu Nagisa, the Fourth child" Misato quickly explained.

"You're the Fourth?" Both Shinji and Asuka said in unison. Asuka sent a fast glare his direction for copying her.

Kaworu nodded. Behind them Kensuke used up the last of his camera's extensive memory space to record the encounter.

"Where were you when the Angel attacked" Asuka scolded, repeating the routine that Shinji went through. Unlike him, the Fourth child was unfazed.

"In my cabin. Since the Eva was on lockdown for the trip I was unable to act" he said. Neither his tone or his expression showed anything other than cheerful boredom.

Misato tuned out the fresh argument when she reached the area of the lot where her treasure sat. It took her a full minute to process the impossibility of the situation.

"Wheres my car?" she said. That ended any further discussion.

Before speculation could begin she heard a rapidly approaching rumble. Coming into view, an orange beauty coasted up to where the Renault Alpine was supposed to be parked earlier. The 1969 parked in the vacant lot with no more care than a bird through the sky. Shinji was the first to notice the white sedan that followed it, practically unnoticed. The Chevorlet parked in her spot while the sedan remained on the path.

The driver side door of the orange car opened first. Slavic leaned over the black roof with a rare smile.

"Wheres my car?" Misato demanded.

"I had Hyguya drive it back to your place. In exchange" he threw something small at Misato, who caught it easily. Shinji's innards turned to ice when he realized what it was.

The sedan's door opened and woman that looked much like Hikari, minus the freckles and with darker hair stepped around.

"Mom?" Hikari asked in wonder.

"So, had a fun trip?" The elder Horaki asked.

"You...could say that" Hikari replied nervously. Mrs. Horaki smiled.

"Thats great. This man" she jabbed a thumb at the driver of the orange car "called me earlier. Asked me to drive you and your friend home. So, Hikari, Mr. Aida, lets go" she said, waving the two onwards.

Kensuke looked at Shinji with puppy eyes at the prospect of riding in such a rare vehicle.

"Believe me, If I could trade places with you I would" Shinji said cryptically. The haunted look in his eyes told Kensuke all he needed to know. He scurried inside the sedan.

"So Misato's driving?" Asuka asked when she saw his eyes. Kaworu simply raised an eyebrow questionably. Misato's expression quickly turned from furious to joy as she saw Slavic's nodding head.

"If youre going to pray, now the time" Shinji told them as the sedan turned around the corner.

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The trip back to the apartment was uneventful, much to Shinji's surprise. Misato and Slavic talked about the Angel's attack, with Asuka butting in to supply details. They stopped only once to grab some take out ramen. In the well padded back seat, Asuka sat in the middle while Shinji sat to her right behind the passenger seat. Kaworu was to her left behind Misato.

"Remind me to thank Makoto later" Misato said appreciably as she pulled up to the parking spot next to her Renault.

Once outside Shinji stretched his sore muscles. The front seats of Novas were spacious, the back seats were not. Adding the stressful day, and he was ready to sleep. As with everything, Kaworu seemed unfazed.

"So wheres my place at?" Asuka asked. The worried look that she saw on Misato told her all she needed to know.

"I'm living with you!?" she screeched, taking a step back. Kaworu looked curious as Misato sighed.

"Yeah" she replied.

"Including me?" Kaworu asked. Misato nodded.

"Not exactly" Slavic pointed out. Without looking he held out his hand. Misato handed his keys back.

"Theres an apartment next door to hers, on the opposite side of mine. You two will have to share it, but its your space" he explained.

"Its not that bad. At the very least there's plenty of room" Misato added with false cheer.

Asuka's eyes became downcast. The entire walk up she grumbled in German. Walking in front of her, Shinji noticed that Kaworu's smile was replaced by a frown.

"Whats wrong?" Shinji asked him.

"She's unhappy" he said. Like earlier, his tone matched his expression.

"Can you understand her?" Shinji asked.

"Yes" he replied, somewhat quiet. Shinji looked backwards. Slavic followed behind Asuka, absentmindedly walking while he did something with his phone.

"Whats she saying?" he asked. Kaworu looked him in the eye.

_His eyes are just like hers_, Shinji idly thought.

"Its better not to say" Kaworu said. He said nothing else until they reached the door of Misato's apartment.

She reached for the handle, but without warning the door opened from the inside. Both Misato and Slavic quickly reached inside their respective coats. They stopped when they saw who opened it.

Wearing a thin jacket instead of her customary lab coat, the faux blonde smiled at the group.

"Ristuko?" Misato asked disbelievingly.

"The one and only" she greeted. Misato dropped her head and angrily snorted.

"How and why are you in my place" she demanded.

"A, Rose let me in. B, this" she handed a single sheet of paper to the resident. Snatching it out if her hands, Misato quickly scanned it. Her face did a similar transformation as earlier, only now from anger to exasperation. Shinji tried to look over her shoulder to read the paper.

"You've got to be kidding me" she said. Though nothing physical changed, she looked like she aged five years in a moment.

Ritsuko stepped aside. Sitting at the dinner table across from the Mexican, still in her school uniform, sat Rei Ayanami. Rose ended her one sided discussion with her and waved at the group standing in and outside the doorway.

"Hey! Guess who's building got condemned!" she called out.

Somehow, no one noticed Rei and Kaworu locking eyes. Neither did they notice the narrowing of both.

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Several days later, In class 2-A, a series of conversations took place between many small groups. In one spot two girls sat, one with dark red hair chatting amiably while her blue haired companion silently listened. In the back corner three friends discussed life, the universe, and everything. Including the opposite sex.

"Just out of curiosity, why exactly did you punch Shinji?" Kensuke asked, changing the subject. Said victim looked at Touji questionably. Said attacker sighed.

"When the Angel was stomping around it's foot landed on one of the shelters. An I-beam came down right on my sister's back. Broke her spine. Until two days ago the doctors said she'd never walk again" he said. He looked to see if they followed him.

"If he" he pointed at Shinji" had gone out just a couple of minutes earlier, it wouldn't have happened" he finished. Shinji sighed.

"For what its worth man, I'm sorry" Shinji solemnly told Touji.

"Plus, you're new. I'm practically obligated to hit you" Touji added.

"Shoulda warned you beforehand" Kensuke offered.

"Probably" Touji agreed. Shinji sighed again.

"Well, bad news is the German harpy and the Albino weirdo are in Tokyo-3. Good news, is they're his problem, not ours" Kensuke said cheerfully, pointing at the quiest member of the trio.

"Well actually-" Shinji began.

"Stand!" Hikari barked. Obediently the class obeyed. Hikari's wrath was the stuff of legend, and no one wanted to test the truth.

She stepped aside, showing two new arrivals. Kensuke's eyes widened, made far more obvious from his glasses. Shinji only sighed. Nearby he heard Rose do the same.

Side by side, two names were written in kanji on the board by two students. One was written in large flowing script, the other in small but neat script. Both students bowed. Smiles adored both faces; one was large and friendly, the other smug.

"Asuka Langely Soryu. Charmed, Ja?" she proclaimed.

"Kaworu Nagisa. Pleasure to meet you" he said casually.

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At the same time...

NERV first branch, Japan, was planned from the beginning to be the battleground of humanity's first war with an alien race. Though the original operation plan called for three Evangelions being in use at any given time, the consideration that number wouldn't be enough held enough sway to have the cages be large enough to accommodate up to ten Evas at once. Considering NERV's budget, it was largely decided by most of the personnel that it was a waste of time and space. Not anymore.

"What the hell is that thing?" Misato asked, raising an eyebrow. Behind her, the Evas stood up in their cages like soldiers at attention, or like a careful child's toys. Ritsuko checked her tablet.

"Just what I thought" she mumbled. When she glanced up Misato was attempting ocular homicide.

"Unit 06" Ritsuko simultaneously answering and proving that death via glaring was a myth.

Said glare ceased, replaced by the returned eyebrow. Unit 00 occupied cage one, 01 two, Alpha three, 02 four, the black American Eva had five, and the subject of Misato's attention had six.

Whereas Unit 03 looked just like Unit 02 with black paint and 01's eyes, Unit 06 was completely different. Not to the same degree as Alpha, but enough to warrant a double take.

"Unit six? What happened to four and five?" Misato asked. Confusion was written all over her face.

"Lets see, Five belongs to Russia, I don't foresee them handing it over anytime soon. And I'm assuming Four is still in the US. My guess would be the Third branch, in Nevada. Probably in case an Angel appeared over there" she explained. Years of practice made the replacing of the tablet with a lit cigarette all but thoughtless.

"So...who's is this?" Misato asked. Her confusion was lessened but not eliminated.

Unit 06's armor was largely like the production series, but streamlined in many places. The shoulder pylons were slightly taller than normal, but were narrower. Two small blade like objects were attached to the knees and elbows. What was most obvious was the face: it had the same jutting angles of the others but had a visor over both eyes and a double pronged horn adorning the forehead. Most of the armor was a dark blue with dark red lining many portions. The visor itself was silver, but the 'eye' portion was red.

"America's" Ritsuko replied. A puff of cancer inducing smoke punctuated the word.

"The Americans already hit their limit?" Misato said with amazement.

"Yep. Its a possibility they might try to violate the Vatican treaty, but personally I doubt it" she said. Another puff.

"So wait, we have six Evas. Aren't we violating the treaty?" Misato ventured.

"Nope" said the new arrival. Both women quickly snapped to attention. Misato performed a salute while Ritsuko hurriedly stomped out her smoke.

Stepping out of the darkness, the arrival calmly walked in. Upon recognition they relaxed, but not to the same degree as before.

"A diplomatic masterpiece that gives us the freedom to do whatever we want" Fuyutski said. He spared a glance at the visored Eva. Whether it was of appreciation or spite was impossible to determine.

"You see, It goes something like this" he started. Both women leaned in.

"Units Zero and One are properties of the Japanese government. We've fulfilled two thirds of our limit. The Americans have formal ownership over the two they sent us, along with the responsibility" he said. He held up a hand to silence Misato, who was about to speak.

"They're operating on our soil, with our pilots, and with our tactical advice. However, they are not our property" he continued. A small smirk began to tug at the corners of his mouth while Ritsuko's eyes widened in understanding. Misato was still in the dark.

"So, they're entrusting them to us?" She asked. Her ignorance was painfully obvious. Ritsuko chuckled, earning another annoyed glare.

"The Evas aren't ours, we're just borrowing them" she explained. A full smirk from the old man confirmed her theory.

"They're operating _beside_ us, not _under_ us. The same goes for the German Eva" he said, making no further attempt to hid his smile.

"We're not violating anything then? But what about Alpha?" Misato asked. Another sly chuckle came from both of them.

"Technically speaking, there is no such thing as Unit Alpha" Fuyutski finished.

In Misato's mind it finally clicked.

"Whoa" she said, clearly amazed.

"The beauty of bureaucracy" he said with an enormous grin. Ritsuko lit another death stick.

"If the children ask we'll explain. Till then, clear out of here unless you want to watch a sync test" she commanded. A valid explanation, but the real reason she wanted them gone was to examine Unit Alpha. There was a huge problem that nagging her, and come hell or high water she was going to find out.

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First, they were scared. Then they were angry.

Now, they were beyond pissed.

"Where is Reeve!? Where is Ikari!?" Kihl all but shouted at Fuyutski, expressing the opinion of most of the council. Unlike his predecessor, Kozo Fuyutski did not lean over and cover his mouth with his hands, instead he sat up straight and presented his best poker face to the most powerful men on the planet. And it was an excellent one.

"Gentlemen, the situation is very complicated. It is time to explain" he said. Calmly he stood up and left the room, leaving the present men confused. As he walked out a ghost of a smirk crossed his face.

Barely a few seconds went by before a new man entered the darkened room.

"Gentlemen" said the Japanese man wearing a black military like uniform. His face was neutral.

"Who are you" 02 demanded.

"I am now the individual in unquestioned control of NERV" he answered.

"What?!" Eight of them exclaimed at once.

"Here is my proposition. You will continue to fund NERV to the exact same degree as before. In exchange, we will continue to battle the Angels" he said.

"And what if we refused. You have no choice" 10 taunted. A small smirk came over the man.

"And you assume I do not posses the means to escape the resulting disaster" he alluded.

Silence and palpable fury emanated from the monoliths.

"This is a simple arrangement. Simply pretend I'm Ikari and we will continue this until all the Angels have been dealt with" he said.

"What about after" 05 asked, the most level headed of Seele. The pseudo-officer grinned.

"We'll figure that out when we reach there. I expect next month's budget to closely match this ones. Until then, cheerio" he said. He clicked his heals and marched out. The monoliths flickered off.

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Omake!

The roaring small block 350 engine and squealing tires announced the arrival of the Nova long before the orange car drifted into the lot. Though the sign outside the lot said five miles an hour, it came in at forty. When the police arrived later, they would question how the driver had managed to drift a classic into the lot (leaving scorch marks that would take months to remove) and somehow miss every other vehicle in the lot before sliding in to the right of the blue Alpine. For a solid four seconds the left sides tires hung as many inches off the ground before leveling out, gently rocking the vehicle.

Misato put the stick into park and turned the key backwards. She then leaned back and let out a small whistle.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do something like that. Can't thank you enough" she told Slavic gratefully.

He was pale to begin with, now Slavic was whiter than Kaworu. He slowly exhaled without moving. Under his gloves his knuckles were bleached white from holding on so hard to the seatbelt and the so called 'oh crap handle', as he once jokingly called it.

"Never. Again." he said through clenched teeth.

He felt a shivering hand place itself on his shoulder. It took an immense amount of willpower to turn his head around to see. Shinji was almost as white as he was, and his eyes had the pleading look of desperation.

"Please let me out. Before she does it again" he pleaded.

"Oh c'mon, I'm not that bad" Misato defended. She took a look at the two other pilots. All traces of the german's confidence were gone, replaced by wide eyed terror.

"Should'vestayedinGermanyshould'vestayedinGermanys hould'vestayedinGermany" Asuka repeated in a whisper. Her knuckles were white from gripping the seatbelt so hard.

Kaworu's eyes were as wide as Asuka's, and his skin was even paler than normal. All traces of a smile were gone. His head turned to her and his blood red eyes locked onto hers.

"I think if the Angels knew about you they wouldn't come here. Ever again" he enunciated carefully.

"Well, I'm hungry. Takeout sound good?" Misato asked. Eight wide eyes locked onto her with matching levels of blood curdling terror.

"NO!" they screamed in unison.

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**A/N: longest chapter yet. I do realize that I breezed over a lot of important stuff, and for that I apologize. Quintuple thanks to those who reviewed, and to you if you read this far. Since many people have asked about it, I just want to clarify something. Remember how the Angel was stomping around when Shinji reached the surface? (The actual show I mean). The Angel hurt Sakura, but Touji blames Shinji because if he had gone out a couple of minutes earlier it wouldn't have happened. Apologies again for not being clear.**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: This isn't going at the pace I wanted, its supposed to be on the ninth Angel by now. Oh well, enjoy**.

_Three weeks ago_

On the outskirts of Berlin stood a relic from another age. Covering an area the size of a city block was an estate, widely known as the Holding. Compared to the old Junker lands to the west or the long dead Prussian claims east, it was both fairly young and fairly small, a fact that did nothing to stop the wariness of a generation that witnessed the death of half the species. It was created, named for, owned, and ruled with an iron fist by a very rich man named Lorenz Kihl.

In 1980 Bonn, Kihl discovered a cult of the rich and powerful, known to a select few as Seele. His goal was from that point on was to dominate it, to work his way to the top, one way or another. By early 1989 he had become the Chairman, but his health began failing. Only through modern medicine and exorbitant funding was his lifespan expanded to 2015. His physician had officially declared that he would be dead by 2017 at the latest.

Kihl planned by 2016 he would be beyond death.

He walked instead of motoring around in a wheelchair, however much easier it would be. Though it cost him greatly, he took pride in his ability, albeit with a cane. Today, he does not feel pride, only the dull pain of age and of great annoyance. Today, by the decision of those beneath him, he must send his ward and a key piece of his plan away. He would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to it.

In a special wing of the mansion lived an incredibly rare species, one of only three of its kind. Behind a double door the creature was in the process of playing Beethoven's An Die Freude. Ode To Joy. He favored classical music in any form, but he liked that piece especially. Kihl could care less about music, he preferred paintings.

Though the door was near silent and Kihl was quiet on his feet, the creature ceased his rendition. An expert would claim he wasn't following it entirely to form, but was making his own variation. A skilled one at that. He soundproofed the room when the boy began his piano hobby, one decision he never regretted. For a brief time the silence seemed more deafening than the music.

"You came to seek answers once again? I have told you before, I do not know why Arael came out of turn. Were she still alive I would ask" the ashen haired albino spoke condescendingly.

"No more questions Tabris" Kihl commanded with condescension of his own.

Tabris chuckled.

"And why's that?" he asked, bemused. With lazy precision he turned around on the bench to face the most powerful man on the planet.

"The council has decided. In two weeks time you're going to America. Once there, you'll be declared the Fourth child and be assigned to Unit 06" kihl said.

"Oh? Getting impatient with the scenario?" Tabris asked, more amused than anything.

"The scenario is in severe jeopardy. Your presence may well put things back on track" Kihl replied.

"Why can't any of you just deal with a problem, instead of dancing around it? I question whether its a trait of the Lilim or just the council" Tabris joked. Kihl gritted his long replaced teeth.

"Will you do it?" Kihl growled in anger. That earned him another sly giggle.

"But of course. I have my own business in Tokyo-3" he said cryptically before returning to his piano.

Annoyed at the obvious rebuff, Kihl left. He counted his blessings that he would be gone soon. And very soon, dealt with permanently.

Tabris returned to his piano, his inner turmoil successfully hidden.

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**Hey great news**.

What?

**Just got the results from Deforce. They got a working prototype**.

_This quick_?

**Yep. I said it before, Pariah is a miracle worker**.

Is it safe? I'd rather not have the thing blow up in my face when the proverbial shit hits the proverbial fan. The last time that happened...

_You're not going to tell the paint store story again, are you_?

No. But that or something like it is what'll happen if it doesn't work.

**Its a go. I already sent them about a hundred political prisoners that I managed to get for testing**.

Are you absolutely sure? This isn't an exercise, the entire operation is on the line.

**It works. For once in your paranoid backstabbing life, trust me**.

...Alright. But I'm holding you to that.

**Fair enough**.

_About how many do you think we'll need at crunch time?_

**Five hundred combat ready. Probably more**.

_And how many hostiles do you think we'll be facing_?

**Two grand, minimum**.

Battle hardened special forces to boot.

_Will it be enough_?

Considering what they are, a hundred is probably overkill, let alone five.

_And the tech_?

**About forty working replicas so far of the basic type, about half that for most of the rest.**

When they have a finished design send me a couple.

_Paranoid much?_

Paranoid backstabber to be specific. Whats kept us so far ahead is our edge, and one of my pastimes is keeping it nice and sharp.

**I thought your pastime was your car.**

Bromance**.**

**Man, thats low.**

_By the way I got the locations of eight of them confirmed. Once all twelve are identified just say the word and their heads are yours_.

Thanks Sera.

_In exchange, could you please stop spending so much? My pockets aren't bottomless_.

I'll try but no promises.

J**ust out of curiosity, how are those implants working out?**

Great. A couple of headaches here and there, nothing major. I recommend it.

**Nah I'm good**.

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Misato slumped over her neighbor's table and groaned. The can of yebisu in her hand, full a minute ago, was now close to empty.

"Um, maybe you've had enough" Shinji suggested. Somehow he found himself in the unenviable position of being her waiter. A sound that resembled a wolf came from the woman, and he quickly retrieved a fresh beer.

"C'mon, it isn't that bad. Take it from me, Rei is low maintenance" Ristuko reassured. Her own beer was half empty.

"If you're worried about Asuka and Kaworu, don't. They're rooming like Rose is. With Shinji around you hardly need to do anything" Slavic also reassured. He was on his second beer.

"I hate my life" Misato groaned. By touch alone she popped the tab of the new beer and put it to her mouth, in seconds it was gone. Shinji was mostly certain she established a new record in drinking history with that feat. He went to retrieve another when Slavic tugged on his arm.

"I got this. You go relax" he said. Shinji held back a yawn as he obeyed.

"Look at it this way, at least Nippon Industries cancelled that stupid Jet Alone demonstration" Ritsuko said as he walked away. Before he cleared the door he heard another groan.

In Misato's apartment, Rei and Rose sat and listened as Asuka regaled them with her tale of fighting the Angel. Oddly enough Kaworu was nowhere to be found.

_Could've swore he was right here_, he thought.

"I was right in its mouth. Right when I thought I was done for, I spotted the core. For such a big thing its weak spot was in a pretty obvious place" she said, punctuating her words with exaggerated hand gestures.

"Wow" Rose said, visibly impressed while Rei looked impassive. Asuka's triumphant expression turned sour at her lack of enthusiasm. Or anything else.

"Whats your problem" she scolded.

"Your actions, while brave, were foolish and reckless. I advise you to refrain from similar acts in the future" Rei deadpanned. The sour look morphed into a scowl.

"And who are you to tell me what I should and shouldn't do" she taunted.

"I am Rei Ayanami, the First child. And according to what I know you have been training for as long as I have. You should have known better than to atttept an action like that" she said. Asuka's scowl upgraded into a snarl.

Before the situation could turn worse Shinji took the bold (for him) act on putting his hand on Rei's shoulder. She looked up with the same detached expression she always wore.

"Hey, I'm going shopping. Want to join me?" he asked. His gaze flickered to Rose, who shook her head. After a slight pause Rei answered.

"Yes" she said.

Asuka's scowled at the two as they left. She glanced around and made the same observation Shinji made on the Fourth's whereabouts before settling on the sole remaining teen.

"You're not going to stop them?" Asuka asked. Rose shrugged.

"I've known that boy for two months now and hasn't made a move at me. On the slight chance he does to Rei, she'll probably snap him like a twig" Rose answered. Asuka harrumphed, much like she did on the carrier earlier.

"You can't trust men" she muttered.

"I can trust him. He's an eejit sometimes but he has a good heart" Rose replied. Asuka muttered a quiet german curse.

_I can tell already you're going to get on my nerves_, Asuka thought. Her companion's thoughts echoed similar sentiments.

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Shinji led Rei to the store that he usually bought the groceries from. The same store that Misato first brought him for a welcoming party. Due to its distance from the apartment, a brisk ten minute walk, it was his and Misato's favored stop for foodstuffs. Alcohol was out of the question however.

"Spaghetti sound good for supper?" He offered. Rei followed him almost in lockstep, following him with a grocery basket.

"That is acceptable" she said. Internally Shinji sighed. She said that to everything he'd suggested so far. He had the suspicion that she'd say yes if he said grass and rocks were on the menu.

After picking up the usual items, he toured the foreign aisle, looking for suitable fare.

"Okay, I figuring Asuka wants something german for dinner. How does" he picked up a box and examined it carefully " Roulade sound?" He asked, showing her the package. Rei glanced at the box. For the first time that Shinji had ever seen she reacted. Though not in the way he'd been expecting.

Her eyes narrowed.

"That is not acceptable" she said. Her tone was as deadpan as always, but now there was an undertone of anger. Shinji glanced back at the box with confusion.

"Whats wrong?" He asked.

"There is meat in that" she said, the hard tone now clear.

"You're a vegetarian?" Shinji said with confusion.

"Yes" she replied flatly. He sighed.

"I'd wish I knew that earlier. Then I wouldn't have bought this sausage" he said. He reached for the basket but Rei yanked it away.

"No" she said, simply and flatly.

"But" he protested.

"I will purchase my own groceries from now on" she told him.

"Well, you can show me what you usually eat. I'll get it for you" he offered. He hoped that she would agree.

"Very well" she agreed.

When she showed him what her usual diet consisted of Shinji could help but blanch at her choice.

"TV dinners" he scorned.

"They are cheap and nutritious" she said. She made a move to grab a few but Shinji slapped her hand away.

"I've had enough trouble getting Misato away of these. If you're risking your life, at least have a good meal or two beforehand" he said passionately. He was so wrapped up in his crusade that he barely comprehended the significance of grabbing Rei's hand and dragging her away to what he called 'real food'.

In all, what should have been an half hour task ended up taking almost three times that long. Shinji spent most of that time trying to impart some of his cooking wisdom onto the blue haired pilot. They wandered most of the store, him pointing out items and explaining what they could be used for, and her memorizing every word.

"For black peeper, a pinch or two usually works. Too much and the result tastes revolting" he said, showing her the small bottle. Rei nodded.

"Now, that covers most of the spices. There's a lot more out there, but most of that is the super expensive exotic stuff" he glanced down the aisle with rows of various spices.

"Pilot Ikari, the time" Rei deadpanned.

"Rei, if we're living together, theres not much point being that formal. Just call me Shinji" he offered.

"Very well then. Shinji, the time" she said. Shinji raised an eyebrow and glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Oh. Um, opps" he chuckled embarrassedly. He didn't see the slight rosy tint to her cheeks.

At the checkout line, Shinji discovered a fatal mistake.

"Um, I, uh, forgot my wallet" he said nervously. Possibilities raced through his mind as the storekeeper glared daggers at him. They raced before Rei reached over with a small card in hand. She swiped it through the reader that was normally reserved for credit cards. The shopkeeper raised her own eyebrow as the machine beeped.

"Well. Alright then, you two are good" she said. Shinji looked at Rei questionably as she pocketed her card.

"NERV ID cards also function as debit cards in the event the pilots need to purchase something" Rei explained. Shinji oohed.

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_Soon after Gaghiel's attack_...

Reeve quietly opened the doors to the massive office widely known as the mausoleum. The workplace and de facto home of the most powerful man in Japan. His first priority was this place, before administration or even meeting his new employees.

"Mine now. Might as well spruce up the place while I'm here" Reeve said with self satisfaction. When he approached the desk, it suddenly spun around, revealing an occupant.

"W-Who are you!?" Reeve demanded. The Japanese man in the seat smirked.

"Either your best friend or your worst nightmare" he said casually. Reeve regained enough of his senses to retort.

"You're speaking to the commander of-"

"I'm speaking to a glorified bureaucrat who gained the job because he was fluent in Japanese. Now, I have a simple question. Are you with me or against me?" The man taunted. His green eyes sparkled dangerously. Reeve unconsciously gulped in fear.

"You're threatening the commander of NERV. I am herby placing you under arrest" Reeve said, mustering up a good portion of his courage. The man tutted.

"A yes would have saved your life" he said wistfully.

"W-w-what?" Reeve stuttered.

"Finn, he's all yours" the man said, spinning the chair around.

Shaking, Reeve turned around and saw a hooded figure standing behind him. The hood raised, though he could see no details. A strange symbol began glowing where the eyes should be, and everything went blank.

"You will obey every order the man in the chair gives you" a deep voice spoke in english. Reeve nodded, all fear gone. All emotion gone.

"Reeve, find a really tall building and throw yourself off its roof. But first, call your wife and tell her you're running away with a thai stripper" the chair bound man ordered, letting out slight giggle.

Reeve nodded in understanding. As he walked out he grabbed his cellphone and began dialing.

"Would it not have been easier to simply shoot him?" The hooded man asked.

"And miss out on good entertainment? Never. Really Finn, you need to get out more. And get a new wardrobe" Tribal replied.

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The office was small and stuffy. Pictures of cats and cat related knick knacks comprised much of the decor on the desk and walls, lying side by side to classified documents and blueprints of advanced technology. No pictures of humans were present, save for a picture of a stupidly smiling purple haired woman that was either tackling or hugging a nervously smiling woman that had light blonde hair. In both their hands a large glass of beer was present, though the purple haired woman's was close to empty.

The stuffiness of the room was compounded by the locked sound proof door that blocked most air circulation and one of the occupants igniting a small tube of tobacco and paper, blissfully inhaling the result. Holding her breath, she blew out a rough circle of grey smoke with practiced ease. It held itself together for all of ten seconds before dissipating.

"I still got it" Ritsuko Akagi mumbled with a smirk. The minor issues dealt with, she turned her attention back to the gaijin patiently sitting across from her.

"Finished yet?" the woman asked. Her tone was polite but her eyes were narrowed in anger.

"Now I am. As I understand it, since NERV is been taken over by your boyfrie-" Ritsuko began but the woman cut her off.

"He is not my boyfriend, never assume that again. If I never have anything to do with that sonofabitch ever again it'll be far too soon" she growled angrily.

"Alright then, associate" she said. The woman leaned back with a huff.

"Better" she said.

"Okay, since your associate has more or less taken over NERV and broke with the U.N., that leaves the ever present issue of funding" Ritsuko said. The woman's eyes narrowed again.

"Name a figure" she growled. Ritsuko's smirk grew larger as she contemplated terms.

A familiar alarm began sounding, erasing all good feelings.

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"Why are we flying?" Shinji asked.

"Every time we step it costs the city forty five thousand yen to fix the pavement" Rei answered blankly.

"Exactly. The Angels' approaching from the ocean, so this time we're going to try to nail it there" Misato blankly.

Four football field sized VTOL aircraft, classified as F-type equipment, took off from the airport to the center of the city. One by one the Evas came up the elevators and attached themselves to the craft via massive cables. Rei went first, partially because she knew the drill better than anyone, and partially to show everyone else how to do it.

Rose was the exception, she simply unfurled her wings and leaped. It took only a few flaps to become fully airborne, and from there she followed the flotilla to the destination. As always, on the screen showing the pilots she was grinning.

Five Evas reached the beach as the head of the Angel began dipping above the waves. Each craft dropped their cargo and quickly fled, seeing as they were not designed for combat. After attaching the already delivered power cables to the four, the five Evas grabbed their weapons of choice and took positions.

"What are you guys doing?" Misato asked exasperatedly. Their 'formation' (if it could be called that) was arranged as: Rei grabbed a positron rifle and took a prone position, Kaworu took a pistol and stood an Eva sized pace away from the sand, Rose had a pallet rifle and aimed at the Angel from a different vantage point but at Kaworu's distance, Shinji picked up a spear and stood near the water, and Asuka slogged out with her own spear to meet it head on.

"Asuka, stay back. We don-" Shinji began. The Angel was about double the size of the Eva and looked like a grayish colored cross between a lizard and a gorilla. A mask like object made up it's 'face'.

"Shut up. Just stay back while deal with it" Asuka barked.

"Asuka" Shinji half pleaded. Barely audible over the comm was a spanish insult.

Once the Angel was in shin depth water (for it anyway) Asuka lunged. She let out a war cry and cleanly sliced the Angel in two, right down the middle.

"See? Thats how its done" she laughed as she posed for her conrades.

"Pilot Soryu" Rei quietly said.

"What" Asuka growled.

"You should fall back" she quietly replied. Asuka began to speak when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Before she knew it something that felt like a speeding train smashed into her chin, blacking her out and sending her flying.

Shinji had a moment of warning before what looked like a smaller and orange colored version of the Angel leaped. A blast from one positron rifle knocked it back, gaining one precious second to act. Which he wasted by trying to back up. Another copy of the Angel, identical except for being silver, leaped and as it landed it did what could only be described as a roundhouse kick into Unit 01's chest, sending it flying as well.

A hail of gunfire from two massive guns poured into the paused Angel. Both gun toting Evas advanced as they fired, stopping when the clips ran dry. Not one bullet actually hit, the characteristic orange hexagon deflected the artillery grade ammunition. Another blast from the positron cannon had the same effect of staggering the Angel.

Orange's leg came out and neatly swept the legs out from under Alpha, much to Rose's chagrin (if the stream of incomprehensible curses were anything to go by). Unit 06 threw it's empty gun at the Angel, which simply bounced off. Both Orange and Silver leaped at once, and punched at once. Like the two Evas previously, Kaworu went flying.

"We're in trouble" Aoba said on the bridge.

Another positron blast lanced out from Rei's vantage point. This time, both twin Angels dodged, narrowly missing the beam of high intensity matter. Like one, they took a running start and kicked the knee bound green Eva with the skill of a lifetime football player. Misato briefly questioned if its goal in life was to see how far it could kick humanity's last defense.

With Alpha away, they turned and locked their mask faces onto Rei's vantage point.

"Rei! Fall back!" Misato screamed.

Unlike Asuka, Shinji did not lose consciousness. He managed to sit up when the order came. He glanced upward and saw a tiny speck. Another speck seemed to break off and grew larger. He had a good idea of what was about to happen when the JSSDF launched N2 mine hit the ground a dozen meters from the Angel. "Ah hell" was the last thing he heard before everything around him went white.

He never found out who said it.

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**A/N: Another one down, score! If you have trouble following all the time jumps sorry. One of these days I'm going to go back through and edit all the grammar mistakes. Eventually. Feel free to criticize, I can't hurt you from here.**

**Laters.**


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